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Virginia Wrestling Opens NCAA Championship Action Thursday
Story Links
March 20, 2013
| No. 13 Virginia Cavaliers at NCAA Wrestling Championships | |
| Date/Time | Thu.-Sat., March 21-23, 2013 |
| Location | Des Moines, Iowa | Wells Fargo Arena |
| Sessions | Thu., Noon (1st Rd) | Thu., 7:30 p.m. (2nd Rd/Wrestlebacks) Fri., 11 a.m. (QF/Wrestlebacks) | Fri., 7 p.m. (SF/Wrestlebacks) Sat., 11 a.m. (Conso Finals) | Sat., 7 p.m. (Championship Matches) |
| Television | ESPN3 (Sessions I-II-III) | ESPNU (Sessions III-IV-V) | ESPN (Championship Matches) |
| Brackets | Live Results | PDF |
| More Information | NCAA Championship Home Page | UVA Tournament Notes (PDF) | Twitter | Facebook |
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Virginia wrestling team begins action at the 2013 NCAA Championships Thursday morning at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The tournament runs through Saturday, with two sessions per day. Virginia boasts a program-record nine competitors and four national seeds in the field.
Championship Schedule (all times Eastern)
Session I – Thursday, Noon (ESPN3)
Session II – Thursday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Session III – Friday, 11 a.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Session IV – Friday, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Session V – Saturday, 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
Session VI – Saturday, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Virginia’s NCAA Qualifiers
125 – No. 8 seed Matt Snyder, R-Sr., 19-7
133 – No. 11 seed George DiCamillo, Fr., 30-8
141 – Joe Spisak, R-So., 21-5
149 – Derek Valenti, R-Sr., 17-8
157 – No. 12 seed Jedd Moore, R-Sr., 29-6
165 – No. 8 seed Nick Sulzer, R-So., 24-8
174 – Jon Fausey, R-Jr., 29-8
184 – Stephen Doty, R-Jr., 17-10
197 – Mike Salopek, R-Sr., 13-5
UVa’s First-Round Matchups
125 – Snyder vs. Rob Deutsch (Old Dominion)
133 – DiCamillo vs. Dane Harlowe (Boston University)
141 – Spisak vs. No. 1 seed Hunter Stieber (Ohio State)
149 – Valenti vs. Chris Villalonga (Cornell)
157 – Moore vs. Cody Pack (South Dakota State)
165 – Sulzer vs. Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo)
174 – Fausey vs. Stephen West (Columbia)
184 – Doty vs. Boaz Beard (Iowa State) – pigtail match; winner vs. Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa)
197 – Salopek vs. Brandon Palik (Drexel)
Virginia at the NCAA Championships
Virginia is sending a program-record nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. This marks the fifth straight year that at least six UVa wrestlers have qualified for NCAAs.
UVa owns three straight top-30 team finishes (15th in 2010, t23rd in 2011, t28th in 2012). Virginia’s best finish at NCAAs was a 10th-place tie in 1957. This marks the 32nd year Virginia has had at least one qualifier at NCAAs.
NCAA Bids Per School
Eleven schools earned eight or more individual qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, including Virginia.
10: Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Virginia Tech
9: Iowa, Ohio State, Virginia
8: Central Michigan, Pittsburgh
Cavaliers with 13 All-Americans in Program History
Virginia has had 13 All-Americans in its program history, with six coming in the last nine years. UVa’s best individual finish is second by heavyweight Henry Jordan in 1957 and current UVa head coach Steve Garland (125 pounds) in 2000.
Two Virginia wrestlers earned All-America honors in 2011 – Derek Valenti (149) and Chris Henrich (174); Valenti will wrestle again at 149 this year. Henrich became Virginia’s first three-time All-American after taking sixth place at 174 pounds in 2011 (he was seventh in 2009, third in 2010).
DiCamillo One of Just Five True Freshman National Seeds
Virginia’s George DiCamillo (133) is one of just five true freshman national seeds in the tournament this year and the only one at his weight. He is the first freshman at Virginia to earn a national seed.
The other true freshman national seeds this year: Nathan Kraisser (UNC) and Josh Martinez (Air Force) at 125, Taylor Massa (Michigan) at 165 and Matthew Miller (Navy) at 174.
Veterans Boost Virginia Lineup
Virginia brings a veteran lineup to the NCAA Championships. Seven of UVa’s nine competitors have NCAA Championship experience.
Jon Fausey, Matt Snyder and Derek Valenti each are now three-time NCAA qualifiers. UVa has four fifth-year seniors in its lineup (Jedd Moore, Mike Salopek, Snyder and Valenti).
George DiCamillo (133) and Stephen Doty (184) are the only Cavaliers making their NCAA debuts this week.
UVa Takes Second at ACC Championships
Virginia took second place at the ACC Championships on March 9 in College Park, Md. UVa finished with 90.5 points, falling five points shy of Virginia Tech. Virginia wrestlers finished in the top three in all 10 weight classes.
George DiCamillo won the 133-pound championship, while seven UVa wrestlers took runner-up honors. DiCamillo became UVa’s first freshman ACC champ since Gage Short won the 177-pound title in 1995.