No. 22 Virginia Wrestling Visits Drexel Sunday Afternoon

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 22 Virginia wrestling team returns to the mat at 1 p.m. Sunday when it travels to Philadelphia to take on Drexel at the John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center. UVa will be competing in its first dual since Nov. 27 after taking time off for final exams.

Virginia holds a 2-1 dual mark entering the match, but this marks the Cavaliers’ first road dual of the 2011-12 season. UVa boasts a quartet of nationally ranked wrestlers this week, including Matt Nelson (R-Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.), who has moved into the InterMat and WIN rankings at No. 20 at 133 pounds.

Matt Snyder (R-Jr., Lewistown, Pa.) stands No. 9 at 125 and Jon Fausey (R-So., Dalmatia, Pa.) is No. 12 at 184 in the latest InterMat rankings. Nick Nelson (R-Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) is ranked No. 16 nationally by WIN.

Drexel is 3-1 this season after going 2-0 at the Fighting Camel Duals on Wednesday. Drexel notched a 26-11 win over Northern Colorado and a 23-13 triumph against host Campbell. Drexel’s 165-pounder, Joe Booth, is ranked No. 16 nationally by InterMat.

The programs are competing against one another in dual action for the first time since 2006 when Drexel pulled out a 19-16 win. UVa and Drexel have met four times previously, with each team winning twice.

After a brief break for the holidays, Virginia returns to competition Jan. 1-2 at the Southern Scuffle. The tournament shifts to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the first time this season after a long run in Greensboro, N.C.

Virginia Probables
125 – No. 9 Matt Snyder (9-1)
133 – No. 20 Matt Nelson (10-3)
141 – Nick Nelson (10-1)
149 – Shawn Harris (6-4)
157 – Jedd Moore (8-2)
165 – Nick Sulzer (10-2)
174 – Billy Coggins (6-7) or Vinny Waldhauser (10-8)
184 – No. 12 Jon Fausey (10-1)
197 – Ryan Malo (9-6)
285 – Ethan Hayes (8-6)
*Individual rankings according to InterMat