No. 20 Cavaliers Travel to Appalachian State Saturday

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 20 Virginia wrestling team will travel to Appalachian State Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. dual at Varsity Gymnasium in Boone, N.C. Live results will be available at VirginiaSports.com.

Virginia (8-1, 4-1 ACC) has won six-consecutive duals entering the weekend. The Cavaliers won seven of 10 bouts last Saturday in a 24-12 victory over Rutgers. Gus Sako (So., Cleveland, Ohio) and Nick Sulzer (R-Fr., Cleveland, Ohio) each scored upset victories at 149 and 165 pounds. Sako topped then-No. 5 Mario Mason, 5-3, and handed Mason his second loss of the year; Sulzer knocked off then-No. 13 Scott Winston, 5-2.

Sako was named the ACC Wrestler of the Week following his victory. He is the second straight Cavalier to earn the award, joining Jedd Moore (R-Jr., Mount Vernon, Ohio), who notched the distinction the prior week. Sako is now ranked in the Amateur Wrestling News (No. 17) and WIN Magazine (No. 19) rankings at 149 pounds.

The featured matchups of the UVa-ASU bout will come at 165 and 184 pounds, where both teams have nationally ranked wrestlers. At 184 pounds, No. 14 Jon Fausey (R-So., Dalmatia, Pa.) is scheduled to wrestle No. 12 Austin Trotman of ASU, while at 165, No. 16 Sulzer is slated to take on No. 15 Kyle Blevins. Trotman and Blevins each own wins over their Cavalier counterparts already this season.

The Cavaliers have three others in the latest InterMat rankings – No. 7 Nick Nelson (R-Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) at 141, No. 11 Matt Snyder (R-Jr., Lewistown, Pa.) at 125 and No. 20 Matt Nelson (R-Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) at 133.

Appalachian State (10-3, 4-0 SoCon) is poised to win its first regular-season Southern Conference championship; the Mountaineers wrestle VMI Friday night at home and would clinch at least a share of the title with a win over the Keydets.

Virginia holds a 6-2 edge in the all-time series with Appalachian State. Last year the Cavaliers notched a 31-8 victory over the Mountaineers in Charlottesville, as UVa recorded three pins to roll to the win.

The Cavaliers wrap up the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 19, with a pair of home duals at Memorial Gymnasium. UVa will wrestle No. 25 Old Dominion at 2 p.m. and George Mason at 4 p.m. Prior to the ODU bout, Virginia will conduct Senior Day ceremonies.

Saturday Probables
Virginia
125: No. 11 Matt Snyder (18-3)
133: No. 20 Matt Nelson (15-3) or Joseph Martinez (17-11)
141: No. 7 Nick Nelson (20-2)
149: Gus Sako (15-5)
157: Jedd Moore (17-5)
165: No. 16 Nick Sulzer (20-5)
174: Vinny Waldhauser (17-13)
184: No. 14 Jon Fausey (18-3) or Nick Kidd (3-4)
197: Ryan Malo (14-11)
285: Derek Papagianopoulos (8-2)

Appalachian State
125: Tony Gravely (14-10) or Weston Haney (7-5)
133: Brett Boston (14-16) or Chris Johnson (14-11)
141: Mike Kessler (27-10)
149: Savva Kostis (23-12) or Russ Benner (9-7)
157: Chip Powell (15-14) or John Blakely (12-11)
165: No. 15 Kyle Blevins (29-5)
174: Carter Downs (10-14) or Jake Johnson (6-9)
184: No. 12 Austin Trotman (27-4) or Jesse Johnson (9-9)
197: Paul Weiss (13-12)
285: Joe Cummings (9-11)