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No. 22 Wrestling Battles No. 15 Virginia Tech Sunday at JPJA
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 22 Virginia wrestling team returns home Sunday for a 1 p.m. dual match against No. 15 Virginia Tech in the ACC opener for both teams. The match will be the first wrestling dual match ever held at John Paul Jones Arena.
Tickets for the Virginia Tech dual are $7 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under), seniors and staff. UVa students are admitted free of charge. All tickets are general admission. There is no charge for parking. Tickets are available now online at VirginiaSports.com and at the JPJA box office beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday.
Prior to the match there will be a free wrestling clinic, hosted by the UVa wrestling program, at JPJA from 10-11:30 a.m. Entrance to the clinic is free of charge to anyone with a ticket to the dual. Tickets may be purchased at the arena prior to the clinic beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday.
A live video broadcast will be available at VirginiaSports.com through Cavaliers Live (subscription service). Live results also can be found at VirginiaSports.com. Flowrestling also will be on hand to stream the match live through Flowrestling.com.
The dual will feature seven ranked wrestlers at seven different weight classes. If recent history is any indication, the match should be tightly contested, as each of the last five duals between the teams has been determined by nine points or fewer.
This marks the third college wrestling competition at John Paul Jones Arena, but the first dual match. UVa held the 2008 Virginia Intercollegiate Championships at JPJ and then played host to the 2011 ACC Championships this past March.
Virginia (2-0) boasts three wrestlers in the latest InterMat individual rankings – No. 9 Matt Snyder (R-So., Lewistown, Pa.) at 125 pounds, No. 18 Nick Nelson (R-Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) at 141 and No. 14 Jon Fausey (R-So., Dalmatia, Pa.) at 197.
UVa senior Ryan Malo (Georgetown, Mass.) is the ACC’s current Wrestler of the Week after winning the 197-pound championship at the Cornell Body Bar Invitational last Saturday. Malo’s big win of the day came in the semifinals when he defeated No. 1-ranked Cam Simaz of Cornell by injury default. Simaz was injured at the 3:30 mark of the match and was forced to stop the bout.
Virginia took third at the Body Bar Invitational last Saturday. Nine Cavaliers placed among the top six in their respective weight classes. In addition to Malo’s top finish, Fausey earned runner-up honors at 184, while Matt Nelson (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) took third at 133, Jedd Moore (R-Jr., Mount Vernon, Ohio) nabbed third at 157 and Nick Sulzer (R-Fr., Cleveland, Ohio) picked up third at 165.
Virginia Tech is 1-1 in dual action this year, with a 31-12 win over Campbell on Nov. 5 and a 21-12 loss at then-No. 10 Ohio State last Sunday. Four Hokies are listed in the latest InterMat individual rankings – Devin Carter (No. 7 at 133), Jesse Dong (No. 5 at 157), Pete Yates (No. 14 at 165) and Nick Veterlein (No. 16 at 197).
The Hokies have held the edge over Virginia in the dual series of late, winning the last five against the Cavaliers, including a 20-12 decision last season in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech owns a 38-32-1 edge in the all-time series with UVa. The Cavaliers’ last dual win against the Hokies came in 2007 in Blacksburg.
Virginia is back in action next Sunday (Dec. 4) at the Nittany Lion Open in State College, Pa. The Cavaliers’ next dual match is Dec. 18 at Drexel.
Probable Starters:
No. 15 Virginia Tech (1-1)
125: Ty Mitch (5-0)
133: No. 7 Devin Carter (9-1)
141: Zach Neibert (0-1)
149: Chris Mears (7-4) or Nick Murray (16-5)
157: No. 5 Jesse Dong (6-0)
165: No. 14 Pete Yates (7-0)
174: Chris Moon (3-4)
184: John Dickson (5-4)
197: No. 16 Nick Vetterlein (9-1)
285: Chris Penny (8-0)
No. 22 Virginia (2-0)
125: No. 9 Matt Snyder (8-1)
133: Matt Nelson (10-2)
141: No. 18 Nick Nelson (9-1)
149: Shawn Harris (5-4)
157: Jedd Moore (8-1)
165: Nick Sulzer (10-1)
174: Billy Coggins (6-5) or Vinny Waldhauser (6-4)
184: No. 14 Jon Fausey (9-1)
197: Ryan Malo (8-3)
285: Ethan Hayes (7-3)
Individual rankings according to InterMat; team rankings according to NWCA/USA Today Coaches poll