Trio of Cavaliers Advance Through First Round at NCAA Championships

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March 19, 2015

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ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Three Virginia wrestlers advanced through the first session of the NCAA Championships Thursday in front of a sellout crowd of 18,383 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. George DiCamillo (R-So., Highland Heights, Ohio), Nick Sulzer (R-Sr., Cleveland, Ohio) and Blaise Butler (R-Jr., Belvidere, Ill.) each advanced through their respective first-round matches by major decisions; each is seeded at his respective weight class.

After the first session, Virginia has totaled six points and stands in 13th place in the team standings. DiCamillo, Sulzer and Butler each scored a bonus point by virtue of their major decisions.

The second round begins at 7 p.m. ET. ESPNU will have coverage of the Thursday evening session, while every match will air live online on ESPN3. A link to live brackets also will be available at VirginiaSports.com, while live updates will be provided on the Virginia Wrestling Twitter account, @UVaWrestling.

Seeded No. 12 at 133 pounds, DiCamillo (27-7) dominated in an 8-0 major decision over Virginia Tech’s Kevin Norstrem. DiCamillo piled up 3:59 of riding time in rolling to the win. He wrestles Zane Richards of Illinois this evening in the second round.

The No. 4 seed at 165 pounds, Sulzer (27-2) scored a 10-2 major decision over Oklahoma’s Clark Glass. With the win, Sulzer moves into sole possession of second place in program history with his 117th career win. He faces No. 13 seed Cooper Moore of Northern Iowa in the second round.

Seeded No. 5 at 174, Butler cruised to a 14-5 major decision over Central Michigan’s Jordan Ellingwood. He advances to face No. 12 seed Kyle Crutchmer of Oklahoma State in the next round.

Four Cavaliers dropped into the consolation round after falling to seeded wrestlers: Nick Herrmann (Jr., Amarillo, Texas) at 125, Joe Spisak (R-Sr., Boiling Springs, Pa.) at 141, Andrew Atkinson (R-Fr., Lynchburg, Va.) at 157 and Zach Nye (R-Jr., Enola, Pa.) at 197. Each will compete in wrestleback matches this evening; Spisak will wrestle in a pigtail match preceding the rest of the evening matches.

Virginia at the 2015 NCAA Championships
Nick Herrmann (125 pounds)
1st Round – No. 10 seed Ronnie Rios (Oregon State) dec. Herrmann, 6-5
Conso Rd. 1 – Herrmann vs. Trey Andrews (Northern Colorado)

No. 12 seed George DiCamillo (133 pounds)
1st Round – DiCamillo major dec. Kevin Norstrem (Virginia Tech), 8-0
2nd Round – No. 5 seed Zane Richards (Illinois)

Joe Spisak (141 pounds)
1st Round – No. 3 seed Lavion Mayes (Missouri) major dec. Spisak, 14-4
Conso Pigtail – Spisak vs. Chuck Zeisloft (Rider)

Andrew Atkinson (157 pounds)
1st Round – No. 12 seed Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Atkinson, 8-4
Conso Rd. 1 – No. 5 seed Cody Pack (South Dakota State)

No. 4 seed Nick Sulzer (165 pounds)
1st Round – Sulzer major dec. Clark Glass (Oklahoma), 10-2
2nd Round – Sulzer vs. No. 13 Cooper Moore (Northern Iowa)

No. 5 seed Blaise Butler (174 pounds)
1st Round – Butler major dec. Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan), 14-5
2nd Round – Butler vs. No. 12 Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State)

Zach Nye (197 pounds)
1st Round – No. 2 seed Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) dec. Nye, 3-0
Conso Rd. 1 – Jake Smith (West Virginia)

2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Schedule of Events – All Times Eastern
Thursday (March 19)
Second Session – 7 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Wrestleback Pigtails, Wrestleback First Round & Second Round

Friday (March 20)
Third Session – 11 a.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Quarterfinals & Wrestleback Second and Third Rounds
Fourth Session – 8 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3)
Semifinals & Wrestleback Fourth and Fifth Rounds

Saturday (March 21)
Fifth Session – 11 a.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Wrestleback Semifinals & Third, Fifth and Seventh-Place Rounds
Sixth Session – 8 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3)
Championships Finals