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No. 13 Cavaliers Compete at ACC Championships Saturday
Story Links
March 8, 2013
| No. 13 Virginia Cavaliers at ACC Wrestling Championships | |
| Date/Time | Sat., March 9, 2013 | 11 a.m. |
| Location | College Park, Md. | Comcast Center |
| ESPN3 Broadcasts | First Round/Consolations (Mat 1) | First Round/Consos (Mat 2) | Championship Matches |
| Brackets | Interactive | PDF |
| More Information | ACC Championship Home Page | UVA Tournament Notes (PDF) | Twitter | Facebook | ACC Facebook Event |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 13th-ranked Virginia wrestling team begins postseason play on Saturday when it competes in the 59th annual ACC Championships at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md. The first round begins at 11 a.m. Virginia will be aiming for its fifth team title in program history and its first since 2010.
Broadcast Information
ESPN3 will stream each round of the tournament online, with dual-mat coverage beginning at 11 a.m. A link to live brackets also will be available at VirginiaSports.com.
ACC Championships Schedule
11 a.m. – First Round
1 p.m. – Semifinals
3:30 p.m. – Consolation Semifinals
5 p.m. – Consolation Finals
7 p.m. – Championship Matches
Probable Virginia Lineup (Overall/ACC Dual Record)
125: No. 9 Matt Snyder, R-Sr. (17-6/2-3)
133: No. 15 George DiCamillo, Fr. (28-8/4-1)
141: Joe Spisak, R-So. (19-4/2-1)
149: No. 20 Derek Valenti (16-7/4-1)
157: No. 14 Jedd Moore, R-Sr. (28-5/3-1)
165: No. 7 Nick Sulzer, R-So. (23-7/4-1)
174: No. 17 Jon Fausey, R-Jr. (28-7/2-2)
184: Stephen Doty, R-Jr. (15-9/4-1)
197: Mike Salopek, R-Sr. (11-4/1-1)
285: Derek Papagianopoulos, R-So. (7-5/3-1)
** rankings according to InterMat
NCAA Bids at Stake
The ACC will have 30 automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. The breakdown of the ACC’s automatic NCAA qualifiers by weight class: 125 – 4; 133 – 5; 141 – 4; 149 – 2; 157 – 2; 165 – 3; 174 – 3; 184 – 4; 197 – 2; 285 – 1.
The NCAA Championships will be contested March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Noting the Brackets
Six Cavaliers earned first-round byes by virtue of top-two seeds in their respective weight classes. Interestingly, the Cavaliers’ lowest seed is fourth-seeded Matt Snyder at 125 pounds; he is ranked ninth nationally at that weight, but the ACC is loaded at that weight, with three of the nation’s top nine wrestlers.
Cavaliers at the ACC Championships
Virginia has won four ACC Championships – 1974, 1975, 1977 and 2010. UVa finished second at the 2012 ACC Championships in Chapel Hill. The Cavaliers have won or finished within 10 points of the champion in four of the last five years.
UVa captured three individual championships last year, and two of those champions will compete again Saturday: Snyder will aim to defend his 125 title, while Jon Fausey, after winning at 184 last year, will aim to do it at 174 this season. 2010 ACC 184-pound champ Mike Salopek will wrestle at 197 Saturday.
Nailbiters the Norm at the ACC Championships
Four of the last five ACC Championships have gone down to the wire, with fewer than 10 points deciding the champion in those instances.
In 2008 and 2009 Maryland won by two points over Virginia. In 2010 Virginia took home the team title by 4.5 points over the Terrapins (85-80.5) and by 6.5 points over Virginia Tech. Maryland won the 2011 title by 12 points over Virginia Tech (94.5-82.5) and defended its title by 9.5 points last year over UVa (83-73.5).
Virginia Ties for Third-Most Dual Wins in Season
Virginia finished the regular season with a 16-4 dual record. UVa’s 16 dual wins is tied with the 2010 campaign for the third-most in a single season in program history.
This season trails just the 2011 (19) and 2008 (18) seasons, although UVa competed in several more duals in each of those years.
Veterans Boost Virginia Lineup
Virginia brings a veteran lineup to the ACC Championships. Seven of UVa’s 10 competitors have postseason experience, both at the ACC and NCAA tournament level, and Matt Snyder, Jon Fausey and Mike Salopek all are former ACC champions.
UVa has four fifth-year seniors in its lineup (Jedd Moore, Salopek, Snyder and Derek Valenti). George DiCamillo (133), Stephen Doty (184) and Derek Papagianopoulos (285) are the only Cavaliers to not have postseason experience.