Five Cavaliers Begin NCAA Championship Competition Thursday
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PITTSBURGH– Competition at the 2019 NCAA Championships begins on Thursday morning for the Virginia wrestling team as five Cavaliers take the mat at the PPG Paints Arena in the hunt for an NCAA Championship.
Competing for Virginia are redshirt sophomore Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) at 197 pounds, redshirt freshman Cam Coy (Jeannette, Pa.) at 165 pounds, redshirt junior Sam Krivus (Greensburg, Pa.) at 141 pounds, junior Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas) at 125 pounds and redshirt senior Will Schany (Blair, Neb.) at 184 pounds.
Krivus, Mueller and Schany are all making return trips to the NCAA Championships, while Aiello and Coy are appearing for the first time. Krivus and Mueller make their third consecutive appearances, while Schany qualified for the second straight year.
2019 Virginia Qualifiers By Weight Class: Seed/Name (Overall Record)
125:No. 5 seed Jack Mueller (17-0)
141:No. 26 seed Sam Krivus (16-10)
165:No. 25 seed Cam Coy (19-14)
184:No. 29 seed Will Schany (14-13)
197:No. 7 seed Jay Aiello (23-6)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The championship’s three prime-time sessions will be airing on ESPN, its early sessions on ESPNU and every one of the 640 matches will be available via streaming on WatchESPN and ESPN3 via the ESPN App. Links are available at VirginiaSports.com.
ESPN prime-time coverage begins with the Second Round on March 21, at 7 p.m., and continues with the Semifinals on March 22, at 8 p.m. On the same two days, ESPNU will air the First Round at noon and the Quarterfinals at 11 a.m.. As with all sessions, ESPN3 will offer individual feeds of each mat, including all eight mats for the first three sessions and all six mats for the semifinals.
Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAWrestling) and get a look at the action by following the program’s Instagram account of the same name.
2018 NCAA DIVISION I WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS – All Times Eastern
Thursday (March 21)
First Session – Noon (ESPNU/WatchESPN)
Opening Rounds
Second Session – 7 p.m. (ESPN/WatchESPN)
Wrestlebacks First Round & Championship Second Round
Friday (March 22)
Third Session – 11 a.m. (ESPNU/WatchESPN)
Championship Quarterfinals & Wrestlebacks
Fourth Session – 8 p.m. (ESPN/WatchESPN)
Championship Semifinals & Wrestlebacks
Saturday (March 23)
Fifth Session – 11 a.m. (ESPNU/WatchESPN)
Wrestlebacks Semifinals & Medal Rounds
Sixth Session – 7 p.m. (ESPN/WatchESPN)
Championship Finals
MUELLER, AIELLO EARN PROGRAM-BEST SEEDS AT THEIR WEIGHT CLASSES
Two members of the squad earned the highest seeds ever received by a Virginia wrestler in their weight class this season. As the five seed, Mueller is the highest seeded wrestler for the Cavaliers at 125 pounds, while Aiello is the same at 197 pounds as the seventh-seeded wrestler.
MUELLER LOOKING TO BUILD ON FRESHMAN PERFORMANCE AT 125 POUNDS
Jack Mueller is looking to build upon his last appearance at the NCAA Championships at 125 pounds. As a freshman in 2017, Mueller earned All-America honors and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. He finished sixth overall as injury on his run to the semifinals forced him to medically forfeit the remainder of his matches in the wrestlebacks. Last season, he competed at 133 pounds and finished one round shy of earning All-America honors for the second time.
REMATCHES LOOM FOR SEVERAL CAVALIERS IN EARLY ROUNDS
Several Cavaliers have rematches from the regular season on the docket in early rounds. Cam Coy will face Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech in his opening match to make the third time for the two wrestlers to face off this season. In the second match of the event, both Sam Krivus and Jay Aiello are assured of facing a rematch in the second match – win or lose. Krivus is paired up to face either Sam Turner of Wyoming or Nicholas Gil of Navy in his second match – wrestlers he beat in each meeting in the regular season. Aiello will face either Tom Sleigh of Virginia Tech or Kellan Stout of Pittsburgh in his second match. Aiello split with Sleigh in their two meetings and defeated Stout in the regular-season finale.