No. 24 Virginia Hosts Maryland, Southern Virginia In Cavalier Duals
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 24 Virginia wrestling team (0-0) will open the 2019-20 season on Saturday (Nov. 2), hosting Maryland and Southern Virginia in the Cavalier Duals at Memorial Gym.
Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. with Maryland and Southern Virginia facing each other before the Cavaliers face Southern Virginia at noon and Maryland at 2 p.m. Admission to the dual matches is free to the public.
The duals against Southern Virginia and Maryland will be streamed on ACCNX which streams live on the ESPN app. ACCNX is available through participating TV providers that carry ACC Network. Fans can also follow the action through live stats linked at VirginiaSports.com or by following the program’s official Twitter account @UVAWrestling.
HOOS BACK
• Virginia returns four NCAA qualifiers from last season in Jack Mueller (125), Sam Krivus (141), Cam Coy (165) and
Jay Aiello (197). Mueller also won the ACC Championship, while Aiello finished as runner-up.
• Mueller advanced to the NCAA Finals last season, while Aiello advanced to Friday morning’s consolation round
• Mueller and Aiello earned the highest NCAA seeds in program history at their weight class with Mueller seeded
Fifth at 125 pounds and Aiello seeded seventh at 197 pounds
• The Cavaliers also return nine regular starters from last year’s squad with only NCAA qualifier Will Schany (184)
being lost to graduation
• Virginia also returns seven wrestlers who redshirted last season as freshmen – three of whom are slated in the
probable starters for the opening weekend – Patrick McCormick (125), Justin McCoy (157) and Vic Marcelli and
Krystian Kinsey at 174
CAVALIERS IN THE RANKINGS
Virginia enters the season with a pair of wrestlers ranked in the first edition of the individual rankings released by InterMat. Two-time All-American Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas) and Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) both appear in the top 10 at their respective weights. Mueller comes in second at 125 pounds, while Aiello comes in ninth at 197 pounds.
As a team, the Cavaliers enter the season as the No. 24 team in the National Wrestling Coaches Association rankings. Five of the six ACC programs enter the season ranked in the top 25.
VIRGINIA PROBABLE STARTERS (Rankings by InterMat)
125: No. 2 Jack Mueller OR Patrick McCormick
133: Louie Hayes OR Sam Book
141: Brian Courtney
149: Michael Murphy OR Denton Spencer
157: Justin McCoy
165: Cam Coy
174: Vic Marcelli OR Krystian Kinsey
184: Tyler Love OR Michael Battista
197: No. 9 Jay Aiello
HWT: Quinn Miller OR Robert Scherer
A LOOK AT MARYLAND
Maryland enters the 2019-20 season under the direction of first-year head coach Alex Clemsen after finishing last season at 14th in the Big 10 standings. The Terrapins were led by then senior Youssif Hemida who finished third at the Big 10 Championships and a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships at heavyweight.
A LOOK AT SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
The Knights of Southern Virginia enter the weekend in the sixth season under the leadership of head coach Logan Davis. Southern Virginia returns three wrestlers with more than 50 career wins, including Keaton Gomez with 67 career wins at 174 pounds. The Knights finished eighth at the NCAA DIII Southeast Regionals. Heavyweight Alex Brunner is ranked No. 10 in the preseason in the coaches rankings for their division.
MARYLAND CONNECTIONS
Virginia and Maryland have connections beyond being former conference rivals when the Terrapins were members of the ACC. Former Virginia assistant Alex Clemsen was hired as the Maryland head coach following the 2019 NCAA Championships after a five year stint at Missouri. Clemson spent five seasons as a part of Steve Garland’s staff.
PROMOTIONS ON TAP FOR THE WEEKEND
Saturday’s Cavalier Duals will feature a giveaway for fans with the first 150 fans in attendance receiving a free UVA Wrestling foam fist.
UP NEXT FOR VIRGINIA
The Cavaliers will head out on the road next weekend to compete at the Journeymen Duals in Albany, N.Y. Virginia will wrestle in a pair of duals on Saturday (Nov. 9) against No. 8 Arizona State and LIU-Post.