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Nov. 6, 2015

FARGO, N.D. – Trailing with three bouts to go, the Virginia (1-0) wrestling team picked up victories in the final three contests to rally for a 25-14 victory at No. 25 North Dakota State (0-1) on Friday in the first dual meet of the season for both teams.

George DiCamillo (Highland Heights, Ohio), Zach Watson (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Andrew Atkinson (Lynchburg, Va.), Garrett Peppelman (Harrisburg, Pa.), Fox Baldwin (Kissimmee, Fla.) and Zach Nye (Enola, Pa.) all scored wins for the Cavaliers in the victory. DiCamillo, Watson, Atkinson, Baldwin and Nye are all undefeated on the season.

“North Dakota State goes really hard and they are well coached,” said Virginia head coach Steve Garland. “That was a good win for this team today and a great way to kick off our dual meet season. I’m really proud of these guys. We need to carry this momentum into a very tough day tomorrow. It’s a crazy weekend, but the goal is March. The harder it is now, the better off we will be then.”

North Dakota State jumped out to the early lead when Hayden Zillmer, ranked sixth in his weight class, picked up a 20-7 major decision over the Cavalier’s Will Schany at 184 pounds.

Nye, ranked 11th at 197 pounds, got the Cavaliers on the board and evened things up with an 11-3 major decision over Logan Paxton. It was the first bout won by Virginia on the afternoon, but the only one through the first four bouts wrestled on the afternoon as North Dakota State moved out to an 11-4 lead.

Heavyweight Patrick Gillen (Shelton, Conn.) dropped his bout 7-5 in sudden victory, while Joseph Martinez (Platteville, Colo.) dropped an 8-0 major decision at 125 pounds to 17th-ranked Joshua Rodriguez.

DiCamillo picked up a 16-6 major decision at 133 pounds, while Watson picked up an 11-5 decision at 141 pounds to even the meet score at 11.

North Dakota State moved back in front when Mitchell Bengtson picked up a 7-5 sudden victory win over TJ Miller (Medford, N.J.) at 149 pounds. It would be the last bout won by the Bison as the Cavaliers claimed the final three matches to rally for the win.

Atkinson grabbed a 12-3 major decision at 157 pounds to give Virginia the lead back with two bouts to go. Peppelman and Baldwin both picked up technical falls to seal the win for Virginia. Peppelman defeated Tyler McNutt 19-0, while Baldwin defeated Blake Thompson 17-1.

Virginia will return to action Saturday, traveling to No. 24 Minnesota for a quad meet. The Cavaliers will face the Golden Gophers at 3 p.m. before facing South Dakota State at 5 p.m. and Grand Canyon at 7 p.m.

Virginia 25, No. 25 North Dakota State 14
184: No. 6 Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) major dec. Will Schany (UVA), 20-7; NDSU 4-0
197: No. 11 Zach Nye (UVA) major dec. Logan Paxton (NDSU), 11-3; Tied 4-4
285: Benjamin Tyanan (NDSU) sv-1 Patrick Gillen (UVA), 7-5; NDSU 7-4
125: No. 17 Joshua Rodriguez (NDSU) major dec. Joseph Martinez (UVA), 8-0; NDSU 11-4
133: No. 11 George DiCamillo (UVA) major dec. Nicholas O’Brien (NDS), 16-6; NDSU 11-8
141: Zach Watson (UVA) dec. Mitchell Friedman (NDSU), 11-5; Tied 11-11
149: Mitchell Bengtson (NDSU) sv-1 TJ Miller (UVA), 7-5; NDSU 14-11
157: Andrew Atkinson (UVA) major dec. Clayton Ream (NDSU), 12-3; UVA 15-14
165: Garrett Peppelman (UVA) tech fall Tyler McNutt (NDSU), 19-0; UVA 20-14
174: Fox Baldwin (UVA) tech fall Blake Thompson (NDSU), 17-1; UVA 25-14
*InterMat rankings listed

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