No. 12 Cavaliers Grind Out 20-12 Win at Old Dominion

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Jan. 19, 2014

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 12th-ranked Virginia wrestling team captured a 20-12 dual win at Old Dominion Sunday afternoon at the Ted Constant Center in Norfolk, Va. Virginia (13-2) won six weight classes, highlighted by a technical fall by second-ranked Nick Sulzer (R-Jr., Cleveland, Ohio) at 165 pounds. That match was an aberration for the day though, as eight of the 10 bouts were decided by three points or fewer in a hotly-contested dual.

“That’s a really good team we just beat,” Virginia head coach Steve Garalnd said. “I’m proud of our guys, not only for the individual efforts but the overall team effort as well. We know the ODU coaches and their wrestlers well and they have a lot of talented guys up and down their lineup. But we’re really starting to see what kind of team we have, and it’s exciting to see guys like Nick Sulzer go out and get bonus points for the team and others picking up big wins for the team.”

Stephen Doty (R-Sr., St. Louis, Mo.), Zach Nye (R-So., Enola, Pa.), Ethan Hayes (R-So., New Lebanon, Ohio), Nick Herrmann (So., Amarillo, Texas) and Blaise Butler (R-So., Belvidere, Ill.) also won by decision for Virginia, which picked up its sixth straight dual victory.

The match started at 165 where Sulzer, ranked second nationally, racked up six takedowns as well as three back points in cruising to an 18-3 technical fall over Dillon Geoghegan for the lone bonus points of the dual. Sulzer is now 24-1 this year, with 18 of his wins resulting in bonus points (two falls, four tech falls, 12 major decisions).

Doty upped his record to 20-6 with a 4-1 win over Billy Curling at 174, giving UVa an 8-0 edge before the Monarchs (3-8) picked up their first win over the day when Jack Dechow scored on a third-period takedown to hand 19th-ranked Jon Fausey (R-Sr., Dalmatia, Pa.) a 3-1 defeat at 184.

Nye scored his fifth straight win as he recorded a third-period takedown to snap a 1-1 tie in defeating Kevin Beazley, 3-2, at 197. Nye is now 14-6 on the year and has gone 7-2 since the start of the new year.

Hayes earned his second win of the weekend with a 4-2 victory over Matt Tourdot in the heavyweight bout, and Herrmann followed with a 5-2 decision over Brandon Jeske at 125, giving the Cavaliers a 17-3 team advantage.

ODU captured the next three weight classes, all in close fashion. Scott Festejo pulled away late for an 11-6 decision over Joseph Martinez (R-So., Platteville, Colo.) at 133 before fourth-ranked Chris Mecate outlasted No. 14 Joe Spisak (R-Jr., Boiling Springs, Pa.) 3-1 at 141. Mecate scored a third-period takedown for the lone offensive points of the bout.

Chris Yankowich (So., Norristown, Pa.) fell 3-0 to Lenny Richardson at 149 as the Monarchs cut their deficit to 17-12, but Butler, ranked 13th nationally, led nearly the entire way in a 5-2 decision over Tristan Warner at 157 to seal the team win.

UVa returns to ACC competition at 7 p.m. Friday when it travels to No. 13 Pittsburgh (9-1) for a key ACC match as the teams tussle for the first time as conference rivals. Pitt knocked off No. 5 Oklahoma State on criteria, 19-18, Sunday afternoon at home.

No. 12 Virginia 20, Old Dominion 12
165: No. 2/2 Nick Sulzer (UVa) tech fall Dillon Geoghegan (ODU), 18-3; UVa 5-0
174: No. 14/14 Stephen Doty (UVa) dec. Billy Curling (ODU), 4-1; UVa 8-0
184: Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. No. 19/17 Jon Fausey (UVa), 3-1; UVa 8-3
197: Zach Nye (UVa) dec. Kevin Beazley (ODU), 3-2; UVa 11-3
285: Ethan Hayes (UVa) dec. Matt Tourdot (ODU), 4-2; UVa 14-3
125: Nick Herrmann (UVa) dec. Brandon Jeske (ODU), 5-2; UVa 17-3
133: Scott Festejo (ODU) dec. Joseph Martinez (UVa), 11-6; UVa 17-6
141: No. 4/4 Chris Mecate (ODU) dec. No. 14/16 Joe Spisak (UVa), 3-1; UVa 17-9
149: Lenny Richardson (ODU) dec. Chris Yankowich (UVa), 3-0; UVa 17-12
157: No. 13/12 Blaise Butler (UVa) dec. Tristan Warner (ODU), 5-2; UVa 20-12

Rankings: AWN/InterMat