No. 23 Virginia To Compete At Journeymen Duals Saturday
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 23 Virginia wrestling team (2-0) hits the road for the first time this season to compete at the Journeymen Duals on Saturday (Nov. 9) in Troy, N.Y. The Cavaliers will face No. 8 Arizona State (0-0) and Long Island University (1-2).
The Cavaliers and the Sun Devils will face off at 10 a.m. before Virginia wrestles the Sharks at noon.
The match will be streamed by FloWrestling for a subscription fee and linked along with live results at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account @UVAWrestling.
VIRGINIA IN THE RANKINGS
The Cavaliers moved up a spot in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) poll, jumping up to No. 23 following a pair of wins last weekend at the Cavalier Duals. Three members of the squad appear in this week’s edition of the InterMat rankings with Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas), Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.) and Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) ranked at their respective weights.
125: No. 2 Jack Mueller
133: No. 16 Louie Hayes
197: No. 8 Jay Aiello
VIRGINIA’S PROBABLE STARTERS (Rankings by InterMat)
125: No. 2 Jack Mueller OR Patrick McCormick
133: No. 16 Louie Hayes OR Sam Book
141: Brian Courtney
149: Denton Spencer OR Michael Murphy
157: Justin McCoy
165: Cam Coy OR Sam Martino
174: Vic Marcelli OR Krystian Kinsey
184: Tyler Love OR Michael Battista
197: No. 8 Jay Aiello
HWT: Quinn Miller OR Robert Scherer
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia opened the season at home with the Cavalier Duals and picked up wins over Southern Virginia and Maryland. In the first dual of the day, Virginia won 9-of-10 weight classes on the way to a 50-3 victory over the Knights. In the afternoon’s second dual, the Cavaliers got bonus-point victories at four weight classes with falls by Mueller, Aiello and Quinn Miller (Lilburn, Ga.). A major decision by Hayes provided the other bonus points for Virginia.
A LOOK AT ARIZONA STATE
The duals on Saturday will be the first of the season for the eighth-ranked Sun Devils. Arizona State has seven nationally-ranked wrestlers, including Brandon Courtney at 125 pounds, Josh Maruca at 149 pounds, Jacori Teemer at 157 pounds, Josh Shields at 165 pounds, Anthony Valencia at 174 pounds, top-ranked Zahid Valencia at 184 pounds and second-ranked Tanner Hall at heavyweight. Last season, Zahid Valencia was named the Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year as he made his second NCAA finals appearance. He helped lead the Sun Devils to a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships a year ago.
LAST TIME OUT VS. THE SUN DEVILS
Virginia and the Sun Devils met last season at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va., with the Cavaliers taking a 23-16 victory over then No. 16 Arizona State. The Cavaliers got off to a strong start behind three straight wins from Mueller, Hayes and Sam Krivus (Greensburg, Pa.) that included a tech fall by Mueller. A win by fall from Jake Keating (Naperville, Ill.) and a fall by Aiello helped push Virginia to the victory as each team won five weight classes. The bonus-point victories proved critical as the Cavaliers recorded three bonus-point victories to only one major decision for the Sun Devils.
A LOOK AT LIU
The Sharks of LIU have made the jump to Division I and are wrestling in their first season as a Division I program. In the opening weekend of competition, the Sharks went 1-2 at a multi-team meet at Rutgers. The Sharks picked up a win over Centenary University of New Jersey, while dropping duals with Rutgers and Pitt-Johnstown.
LAST TIME OUT VS. THE SHARKS
The Cavaliers and the Sharks wrestled last season at the Journeymen Duals as LIU was making the transition up to Division I. The Cavaliers took victories in 9-of-10 weight classes – all of them with bonus points. Included in those bonus-point wins were falls by Hayes, Cam Coy (Jeannette, Pa.) and Miller.
UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia will continue to compete on the road at the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia on Sunday, Nov. 24.