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Feb. 9, 2014

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 12th-ranked Virginia wrestling team finished its ACC dual schedule with a 22-10 win over NC State Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C. Virginia improved to 17-3 in dual action, including a 5-1 mark in the conference. NC State dropped to 12-5 (1-3 ACC).

Virginia won seven of the 10 weight classes as Nick Herrmann (So., Amarillo, Texas), Joseph Martinez (R-So., Platteville, Colo.), Joe Spisak (R-Jr., Boiling Springs, Pa.), Blaise Butler (R-So., Belvidere, Ill.), Nick Sulzer (R-Jr., Cleveland, Ohio), Stephen Doty (St. Louis, Mo.) and Zach Nye (R-So., Enola, Pa.) all earned wins.

NC State got off to a good start with a 14-4 major decision by seventh-ranked Nick Gwiazdowski over Ethan Hayes (R-So., New Lebanon, Ohio) at heavyweight.

Virginia then took the next three weight classes. At 125, Herrmann claimed an 8-2 decision over Micah Perez, and Martinez followed with a 6-3 win over Chris Wilkes in the 133 bout.

Spisak won a 3-1 bout over Sam Speno in a fun match at 141. Down 1-0 heading to the third period, Speno chose the neutral position. After Speno shot in, Spisak was able to turn it around and pick up two points of his own with a takedown. Spisak later was penalized a point for his second stall warning. Speno nearly picked up the tying points in the waning seconds, but after a video review, it was determined he did not have control for a takedown prior to the final buzzer.

Wrestling in place of an injured Gus Sako, Justin Van Hoose (So., Kirksville, Mo.) went down to the wire before falling 2-1 to Brian Hamann at 149. Butler got the Cavaliers back on the right track with a 6-3 win over No. 19 Tommy Gantt at 157. Ranked 15th nationally, Butler now is 17-6 this season.

Sulzer, ranked second nationally at 165, got the Cavaliers a bonus point with a 16-4 major decision over Nijel Jones. Sulzer scored his first takedown with 1:20 left in the first period, and after Jones escaped, Sulzer took him down to his back to also get a pair of back points as he grabbed an early 6-1 lead in cruising to the victory to improve to 29-1 on the year.

Ranked 16th nationally, Doty outlasted No. 17 Pete Randa in overtime, 4-2. With the match tied 2-2 in the third period, Renda was deep in on a shot for the final 20 seconds, but Doty fended him off to send it to overtime. Doty shot in 20 seconds into the extra session and worked for 10 seconds before finishing off the takedown. Doty upped his record to 24-7.

James Suvak (R-Fr., Parma Heights, Ohio), wrestling in place of senior Jon Fausey, dropped a 6-4 decision to NC State’s Michael Macciavello at 184 before Nye closed the match on a high note for the Cavaliers with a 3-1 win over KaRonne Jones at 197. Nye scored the winning takedown in the final 10 seconds to seal the win as he improved to 17-8 this season.

The Cavaliers conclude the regular season next Sunday (Feb. 16) with a 2 p.m. dual at George Mason. The postseason begins March 8 with the ACC Championships in Blacksburg, Va., followed by the NCAA Championships March 20-22 in Oklahoma City.

No. 12 Virginia 22, North Carolina State 10
285: No. 7/6 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) major dec. Ethan Hayes (UVa), 14-4; NCSU 4-0
125: Nick Herrmann (UVa) dec. Micah Perez (NCSU), 8-2; NCSU 4-3
133: Joseph Martinez (UVa) dec. Chris Wilkes (NCSU), 6-3; UVa 6-4
141: No. 16/17 Joe Spisak (UVa) dec. Sam Speno (NCSU), 3-1; UVa 9-4
149: Brian Hamann (NCSU) dec. Justin Van Hoose (UVa), 2-1; UVa 9-7
157: No. 15/15 Blaise Butler (UVa) dec. No. 19/- Tommy Gantt (NCSU), 6-2; UVa 12-7
165: No. 2/2 Nick Sulzer (UVa) major dec. Nijel Jones (NCSU), 16-4; UVa 16-7
174: No. 16/11 Stephen Doty (UVa) dec. No. 17/19 Pete Renda (NCSU), 4-2 (SV); UVa 19-7
184: Michael Macciavello (NCSU) dec. James Suvak (UVa), 6-4; UVa 19-10
197: Zach Nye (UVa) dec. KaRonne Jones (NCSU), 3-1; UVa 22-10

Rankings: AWN/InterMat

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