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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 20 Virginia wrestling team won its seventh-consecutive dual match Saturday evening, downing Appalachian State 29-12 at Varsity Gymnasium in Boone, N.C. The Cavaliers (9-1) claimed victories at seven of 10 weight classes in a dominating team win over the Mountaineers (11-4), who had clinched the Southern Conference regular-season championship Friday night.

The Cavaliers scored bonus points in four of their wins, highlighted by a Vinny Waldhauser (Fr., El Dorado Hills, Calif.) pin of Jesse Johnson at 174 pounds. UVa also racked up a technical fall and two major decisions.

The match started at the 141-pound weight class, and UVa won six of the first eight matches to take a 25-6 lead. With the team win already clinched, Virginia took a forfeit at 125 pounds. UVa did not wrestle their normal starters at 125 (No. 11 Matt Snyder), 133 (No. 20 Matt Nelson) or 184 pounds (No. 14 Jon Fausey).

UVa won the first three bouts. At 141, seventh-ranked Nick Nelson (R-Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) posted a 3-0 win over Mike Kessler to improve to 21-2 this year. The Cavaliers then scored bonus points in back-to-back matches, as Gus Sako (So., Cleveland, Ohio) posted a 15-5 major decision over Saava Kostis at 149 for his fifth-straight win and Jedd Moore (R-Jr., Mount Vernon, Ohio) recorded a 19-4 tech fall over Chip Powell at 157.

Appalachian State cracked the scoreboard at 165 as 15th-ranked Kyle Blevins defeated No. 16 Nick Sulzer (R-Fr., Cleveland, Ohio), 4-0. Waldhauser recorded his fifth fall of the year with his pin of Johnson at 174 pounds. This pushed the UVa lead to 18-3.

At 184 pounds, No. 12 Austin Trotman of ASU notched an 8-3 win over UVa’s Nick Kidd (Fr., Hyannis, Mass.).

Ryan Malo (Sr., Georgetown, Mass.) posted a 10-2 major decision over Paul Weiss at 197 before Derek Papagianopoulos (R-Fr., Burlington, Mass.) scored a 5-2 decision over Joe Cummings in the heavyweight bout, giving the Cavaliers a 25-6 advantage.

ASU’s Antonio Gravely was credited with the win at 125 after Virginia took a forfeit. UVa ended on a high note as Joseph Martinez (Fr., Platteville, Colo.) dominated in a 16-6 major decision over Brett Boston.

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.

No. 20 Virginia 29, Appalachian State 12
141: No. 7 Nick Nelson (Virginia) dec. Mike Kessler (ASU), 3-0; UVa 3-0
149: Gus Sako (Virginia) major dec. Savva Kostis (ASU), 15-5; UVa 7-0
157: Jedd Moore (Virginia) tech fall Chip Powell (ASU), 19-4 (7:00); UVa 12-0
165: No. 15 Kyle Blevins (ASU) dec. No. 16 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 4-0; UVa 12-3
174: Vinny Waldhauser (Virginia) pinned Jesse Johnson (ASU), 4:05; UVa 18-3
184: No. 12 Austin Trotman (ASU) dec. Nick Kidd (Virginia), 8-3; UVa 18-6
197: Ryan Malo (Virginia) major dec. Paul Weiss (ASU), 10-2; UVa 22-6
285: Derek Papagianopoulos (Virginia) dec. Joe Cummings (ASU), 5-2; UVa 25-6
125: Antonio Gravely (ASU) won by forfeit; UVa 25-12
133: Joseph Martinez (Virginia) major dec. Brett Boston (ASU), 16-6; UVa 29-12

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