No. 12 Virginia Stands Eighth at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
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Dec. 5, 2014
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 12th-ranked Virginia wrestling team holds eighth place after the first day of competition on Friday at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, hosted at the Las Vegas Convention Center. George DiCamillo (R-So., Highland Heights, Ohio), Nick Sulzer (R-Sr., Cleveland, Ohio) and Blaise Butler (R-Jr., Belvidere, Ill.) advanced to the semifinals at 133, 165 and 174, respectively.
The event concludes Saturday, with consolation matches starting at noon ET. Semifinal action begins at 1 p.m. ET. Live results and video can be found on FloWrestling.org.
Ranked 10th nationally and the No. 4 seed at 133, DiCamillo rolled to a trio of wins, all in convincing fashion. He pinned Northern Colorado’s Michael Espinoza to begin the day before scoring decision over Nebraska’s Eric Montoya (9-3) and fifth-seeded and 13th-ranked Earl Hall of Iowa State (9-2). DiCamillo wrestles top-seeded and second-ranked Chris Dardanes of Minnesota in the semifinals Saturday.
The top seed at 165 pounds, Sulzer piled up bonus points with each of his three wins. Ranked second nationally, Sulzer improved to 8-0 on the year after picking up wins over Cornell’s Jesse Shanaman (13-0 major decision), Nebraska-Kearney’s Devin Aguirre (fall in 4:46) and eighth-seeded Austin Wilson of Nebraska (14-3 major decision). Sulzer will take on fifth-seeded and 12th-ranked Cooper Moore of Northern Iowa on Saturday.
Butler, the No. 5 seed in the tournament and ranked ninth nationally, started his day with a tech fall over Northern Colorado’s Josh VanTine before scoring 8-5 wins over 12th-seeded Nate Jackson of Indiana and Jadaen Bernstein of Navy. Butler (8-0) will wrestle top-ranked Logan Storley of Minnesota Saturday in the semifinals.
The fourth seed and ranked ninth nationally, Joe Spisak (R-Sr., Boiling Springs, Pa.) scored a pair of wins, including a pin of Air Force’s David Walker, before dropping a 9-7 decision to fifth-seeded and 16th-ranked Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers in the quarterfinals. Spisak will wrestle George Fisher of Michigan in the wrestlebacks on Saturday.
Collin Campbell (R-Sr., Roxboro, N.C.) also remains alive in the heavyweight bracket. He fell into the consolation bracket after a defeat to fifth-seeded Joe Stolfi of Bucknell, but rebounded with a pair of wins in the wrestlebacks. He will face sixth-seeded and 10th-ranked Evan Knutson of North Dakota State on Saturday.
Five Cavaliers were eliminated from the competition Friday – Will Mason (R-So., Virginia Beach, Va.) at 125, Chris Yankowich (Jr., Norristown, Pa.) at 149, Andrew Atkinson (R-Fr., Lynchburg, Va.) at 157, Tyler Askey (R-Fr., Newnan, Ga.) at 184 and Chance McClure (Fr., Commerce, Ga.) at 197.
Tournament Standings (after Day 1)
1. Minnesota, 85.5
2. Iowa State, 65
3. Cornell, 61
4. Michigan, 60.5
5. Ohio State/Virginia Tech, 57.5
7. Nebraska, 54.5
8. Virginia, 50.5
9. NC State, 45
10. Rutgers, 44
Tournament Schedule (all times Pacific)
Saturday, Dec. 6
9 a.m.: Consolation Round 4
10 a.m.: Semifinals and Consolation Round 5, Consolation Semifinals, Consolation Finals (5th & 6th, 7th & 8th)
3 p.m.: Championship Finals – 1st & 2nd and 3rd & 4th