No. 12 Virginia Visits No. 9 Virginia Tech for Super Bowl Sunday Dual

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Jan. 31, 2015

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 12 Virginia wrestling team heads to No. 9 Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. Sunday for an ACC dual with the Hokies. The match will be contested at the sold-out Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg.

Live Video/Results
A video broadcast will be available through Flowrestling and linked on VirginiaSports.com; there is a subscription fee required. A link to live results also can be located on VirginiaSports.com.

Commonwealth Clash
The Sunday dual is part of the Commonwealth Clash between Virginia and Virginia Tech. UVa currently holds a 5.5-1.5 lead in the Commonwealth Clash; the winning school Sunday receives one point.

The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line. Fans are also encouraged to support their team through a fan-based point. The school that accumulates 11.5 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.

In the Rankings
Five Cavaliers are listed in the latest InterMat rankings:
George DiCamillo (13th at 133)
Joe Spisak (14th at 141)
Nick Sulzer (second at 165)
Blaise Butler (seventh at 174)
Zach Nye (18th at 197)

In addition, Andrew Atkinson moved into the WIN Magazine 157 rankings this week at No. 20. Gus Sako remains at No. 19 at 149 in the latest WIN rankings.

Noting the Cavaliers
UVa is 10-3 in the dual season, including a 2-0 mark in the ACC. The Cavaliers are coming off a nail-biting 17-16 victory over then-No. 10 Pitt last Sunday at Memorial Gymnasium. Both teams captured five matches, but UVa scored bonus points on major decisions at by DiCamillo and Sulzer at 133 and 165, respectively, to come away with its second win over a top-10 team this season.

This is the Cavaliers’ second true road dual of the season; UVa also wrestled at Bucknell on Dec. 20. Three of UVa’s final four duals will come on the road (at North Carolina next Saturday and at No. 1 Iowa on Feb. 15).

The Rematch
Virginia and Virginia Tech battled through a nip-and-tuck affair on Jan. 10 in the championship match of the Virginia Duals. Both teams won five bouts, but Devin Carter’s major decision at 141 pounds provided the key bonus point that gave the Hokies a 16-15 win. Six of the 10 matches were decided by three points or fewer, including the heavyweight bout, which provided Virginia Tech with its final three points for the win.

UVa-Virginia Tech Series
Virginia Tech holds a 42-33-1 edge in the series after its dual win earlier this season against UVa. The Hokies have captured the last two duals in Blacksburg; UVa’s last win Blacksburg was on Jan. 28, 2006. The Cavaliers defeated Virginia Tech last season, 19-16 in Charlottesville, to snap the Hokies’ eight-match win streak in the series.

Noting Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (9-2, 0-0 ACC) has seven ranked wrestlers in its lineup with the return of fifth-ranked Nick Brascetta at 157 for this dual. The Hokies were off last weekend and are wrestling for the first time since suffering a 21-12 upset loss at then-No. 13 Iowa State on Jan. 18.

Up Next
Virginia continues ACC dual action next Saturday (Feb. 7) with a 7 p.m. match at North Carolina.

Virginia Probables
125: Nick Herrmann (11-5) or Will Mason (9-7)
133: No. 13 George DiCamillo (21-6)
141: Justin Van Hoose (1-8)
149: Gus Sako (3-4) or Chris Yankowich (8-11)
157: Andrew Atkinson (14-9)
165: No. 2 Nick Sulzer (21-1)
174: No. 7 Blaise Butler (14-2)
184: Tyler Askey (13-13) or James Suvak (9-5)
197: No. 18 Zach Nye (13-5)
285: Pat Gillen (13-6) or Ethan Hayes (1-2)

Virginia Tech Probables
125: No. 4 Joey Dance (20-2)
133: No. 19 Kevin Norstrem (15-9)
141: No. 3 Devin Carter (21-3)
149: No. 12 Sal Mastriani (18-7)
157: No. 5 Nick Brascetta (2-1)
165: Chad Strube (6-9)
174: No. 12 Zach Epperly (15-3)
184: Austin Gabel (11-8)
197: Jared Haught (13-11)
285: No. 9 Ty Walz (20-4)
**Rankings according to InterMat