Virginia Stands Sixth After Day One of Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
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Nov. 30, 2012
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 17th-ranked Virginia wrestling team holds sixth place after the first day of competition at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center. UVa has racked up 49 points through the first day of competition; No. 5 Ohio State (78), No. 7 Missouri (64.5), No. 8 Cornell (53.5), No. 15 Oregon State (53.5) and No. 9 Nebraska (50) rank one through five.
Thirty-two teams, including nine ranked in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Coaches top 25, are competing in the tournament.
Five Cavaliers remain in the field heading into the second day, including three in the semifinals: George DiCamillo (Fr., Highland Heights, Ohio) at 133 pounds, Jedd Moore (R-Sr., Mount Vernon, Ohio) at 157 and Nick Sulzer (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio) at 165. Derek Valenti (R-Sr., Newton, N.J.) and Jon Fausey (R-Jr., Dalmatia, Pa.) remain in the wrestlebacks at 149 and 174 pounds, respectively.
Seeded sixth in the field, DiCamillo dominated in three straight matches to advance to the semifinals. He won his first two matches by fall before recording a 6-0 decision over North Dakota State’s Joshua Rodriguez in the quarterfinals. He will wrestle second-seeded and eighth-ranked Nathan McCormick of Missouri in the semis.
Seeded ninth at 157 pounds, Moore picked up a huge win in the quarterfinals, knocking off top-seeded and sixth-ranked James Green of Nebraska, 7-6, to advance to the semifinals for a bout with Air Force’s Gabe Martinez. Moore also recorded a tech fall over San Francisco State’s Vincent Aboytes in the first round, then won by injury default over Michigan’s Jacob Salazar in the second round.
Seeded third at 165, Sulzer rolled to the semifinals with three bonus-point wins, including a 12-4 major decision over Navy’s Payton Walsh in the quarters. He will wrestle second-seeded and eighth-ranked Steven Monk of North Dakota State in the semis.
The fifth seed at 149, Valenti won a pair of matches and reached the quarterfinals before falling to fourth-seeded and 10th-ranked Cole VonOhlen of Air Force, 8-2. Valenti dropped to the consolation bracket, where he will wrestle Army’s Daniel Young Saturday.
The No. 2 seed at 174, Fausey won his opener, 15-2, over Utah Valley’s Monte Schmalhaus before losing, 6-4, to Arizona State’s Blake Stauffer. Fausey bounced back well and cruised to a pair of wins in the consolation bracket; he will take on fifth-seeded and 18th-ranked Todd Porter of Missouri Saturday.
Three Cavaliers were eliminated Friday after a pair of losses each. Seeded 10th at 184, Stephen Doty (R-Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) dropped both of his bouts. Zach Nye (R-Fr., Enola, Pa.) pinned his first foe, Riley Argyle of Western Wyoming, then dropped a 4-2 decision to seventh-seeded Jake Meredith of Arizona State before being eliminated by Navy’s Peter Huntley. Heavyweight Derek Papagianopoulos (R-So., Burlington, Mass.) was forced to take an injury default in each of his matches.
Action continues at noon ET Saturday with the consolation fourth round. The semifinals start at 1 p.m., followed by the finals at 6 p.m. Fans can watch the semifinals and finals live on Flowrestling.com.
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Schedule (all times Eastern)
Saturday
Noon: Consolation Round 4
1 p.m.: Semi-Finals and Consolation Round 5, Consolation Semi Finals, Consolation Finals (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th)
6 p.m.: Championship matches
Team Standings (top 10)
1. Ohio State, 85
2. Missouri, 80.5
3. Cornell, 53.5
3. Oregon State, 53.5
4. Nebraska, 50
6. Virginia, 49
7. Air Force, 42
8. Boise State, 39.5
9. Wyoming, 34.5
10. Wisconsin, 32.5