No. 19 Cavaliers Upset No. 9 CMU, Advance to Championship

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Jan. 12, 2013

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HAMPTON, Va. – The 19th-ranked Virginia wrestling team upset ninth-ranked and top-seeded Central Michigan, 20-13, Saturday in the semifinals of the 2013 Virginia Duals Tournament at the Hampton Coliseum. The No. 4 seed in the 16-team dual-meet tournament, Virginia (9-2) will wrestle 10th-ranked and second-seeded Virginia Tech at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.

In defeating a top-10 team for the first time in program history, Virginia will compete for the Virginia Duals championship for the first time. Either Virginia or Virginia Tech will become the first program from the Commonwealth of Virginia to win the tournament team title in the event’s 33-year history.

Live video as well as updated results will be available via VirginiaSports.com.

Virginia picked up key wins at 125 and 174 pounds, where No. 7 Matt Snyder (R-Sr., Lewistown, Pa.) and No. 15 Jon Fausey (R-Jr., Dalmatia, Pa.) each won bouts against ranked foes. Stephen Doty (R-Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) and Jimmy Nehls (R-Fr., Downers Grove, Ill.) also continued their strong wrestling this weekend with wins at 197 and 141, respectively.

“It’s a great win for our program,” Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. “It’s the highest-ranked opponent that we have beaten and it’s our first time in the finals of the Virginia Duals, so we are very excited. I sound like a broken record, but the story of the day again was Jimmy Nehls and Stephen Doty. We had some fantastic stories again today and we’re excited to wrestle tonight.”

Virginia won at six weight classes, as Jedd Moore (R-Sr., Mount Vernon, Ohio) and Nick Sulzer (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio) also claimed victories over the Chippewas (7-3).

Snyder dominated from the top position in a 4-0 win over No. 9 Christian Cullinan. After a scoreless first period, Snyder rode Cullinan for both the second and third periods, while picking up a three-point near fall in the second.

No. 13 George DiCamillo (Fr., Highland Heights, Ohio) battled All-American Scotti Sentes, ranked seventh nationally, down to the wire before Sentes snapped a 1-all tie with a takedown and three back points with 20 seconds remaining in the third period.

Nehls racked up his third straight Virginia Duals win with a 3-2 victory over Scott Mattingly. He started strong with a first-period takedown and led throughout.

No. 16 Derek Valenti (R-Sr., Newton, N.J.) dropped a 6-2 decision to Donnie Corby at 149. After a scoreless first period, Valenti escaped to start the second, but he was taken down at the 1:43 mark. Valenti escaped 45 seconds later to knot the score at 2. After starting on top in the third, Valenti was penalized a point for interlocking hands before Corby reversed him to shoot out to a 5-2 lead.

Ranked No. 13 nationally, Moore earned a 5-3 decision over Lucas Smith to give UVa the team lead for good. He needed just 10 seconds in the first period to take Smith down and built up 2:50 of riding time after controlling the rest of the period. He added a penalty point midway through the second after Smith’s second stall warning and took Smith down again in the waning seconds of the period.

Ranked seventh nationally at 165, Sulzer scored a 6-4 win over Mike Ottinger. In a 3-3 bout in the second period, but Sulzer Ottinger down before building up 1:31 in riding time in the third.

Fausey dominated in a 9-1 major decision over No. 19 Craig Kelliher. He took down Kelliher 11 seconds into the first and maintained the advantage the remainder of the period. After Kelliher rode Fausey for the first 55 seconds of the second, Fausey reversed him and rode out the period. Fausey again reversed Kelliher in the third, then cut him loose. Fausey earned the major decision with a takedown with one second left.

Zach Nye (R-Fr., Enola, Pa.) dropped a 10-2 major decision to second-ranked Ben Bennett, but UVa clinched the dual match when Doty picked up a 14-4 major decision over Jackson Lewis. Wrestling up a weight class, Doty was taken down 23 seconds into the first, but he promptly escaped. Doty controlled the bout from there, picking up a takedown later in the period before pulling Lewis to his back for three back points.

Patrick Gillen (R-Fr., Shelton, Conn.) wrestled seventh-ranked Jarod Trice tough before dropping a 5-1 decision.

No. 19 Virginia 20, No. 9 Central Michigan 13
125: No. 7 Matt Snyder (UVa) dec. No. 9 Christian Cullinan (CMU), 4-0; UVa 3-0
133: No. 7 Scotti Sentes (CMU) dec. No. 13 George DiCamillo (UVa), 6-1; tied 3-3
141: Jimmy Nehls (UVa) dec. Scott Mattingly (CMU), 3-2; UVa 6-3
149: Donnie Corby (CMU) dec. No. 16 Derek Valenti (UVa), 6-2; tied 6-6
157: No. 13 Jedd Moore dec. Lucas Smith (CMU), 5-3; UVa 9-6
165: No. 7 Nick Sulzer (UVa) dec. Mike Ottinger (CMU), 6-4; UVa 12-6
174: No. 15 Jon Fausey (UVa) major dec. No. 19 Craig Kelliher (CMU), 9-1; UVa 16-6
184: No. 2 Ben Bennett (CMU) major dec. Zach Nye (UVa), 10-2; UVa 16-10
197: Stephen Doty (UVa) major dec. Jackson Lewis (CMU), 16-4; UVa 20-10
285: No. 7 Jarod Trice (CMU) dec. Patrick Gillen (UVa), 5-1; UVa 20-13