No. 22 Virginia Opens Virginia Duals With Kent State Friday
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 22 Virginia wrestling team (3-1) returns to dual competition this weekend at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. The Cavaliers will face Kent State (3-5) in the opening dual match of the weekend at 11 a.m. in the Hampton Coliseum. The Virginia Duals is a two-day event that culminates on Saturday night.
Virginia enters the competition as the top-seeded team in the field of eight teams. Other teams competing in the Virginia Duals include Duke, Fresno State, Maryland, Penn, Old Dominion and Rider.
Live stats of the match and streaming will be provided by TrackWrestling and are linked at VirginiaSports.com. The web stream is a subscription based feed, while the brackets and live stats are available for free.
A LOOK AT THE VIRGINIA DUALS
The Virginia Duals spans multiple levels of wrestling with collegiate and high school teams competing. There are two collegiate divisions and three high school divisions. The winner of Friday’s matchup between the Cavaliers and Kent State will advance to face the winner of fourth-seeded Old Dominion and Penn at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 11). The loser of Friday’s opening-round matchup will face the loser of the Old Dominion and Penn match at 3 p.m. on Friday in the consolation bracket.
Schedule of Events
Friday, January 10
11 a.m. – Virginia vs. Kent State; Old Dominion vs. Penn; Fresno State vs. Maryland; Duke vs. Rider
3 p.m. – Consolation Match 1; Consolation Match 2
Saturday, January 11
10 a.m. – 7th Place Match
2 p.m. – Semifinal 1 & 2
4 p.m. – Consolation Semifinal 1 & 2
6 p.m. – 5th Place Match
8:30 p.m. – Finals & 3rd Place Match
CAVALIERS IN THE RANKINGS
The Cavaliers moved up to No. 22 in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll and features three individual wrestlers in the latest InterMat wrestling rankings. Senior Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas) comes in at No. 2 in the 125-pound rankings, while redshirt juniors Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.) and Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) are No. 18 at 133 pounds and No. 9 at 197 pounds, respectively.
125: No. 2 Jack Mueller
133: No. 18 Louie Hayes
197: No. 9 Jay Aiello
VIRGINIA PROBABLES FOR VIRGINIA DUALS
125: No. 2 Jack Mueller (6-0) OR Patrick McCormick (5-4)
133: No. 18 Louie Hayes (12-6) OR Sam Book (8-3)
141: Brian Courtney (11-7)
149: Denton Spencer (14-5) OR Michael Murphy (11-6)
157: Justin McCoy (11-6)
165: Cam Coy (2-0) OR Krystian Kinsey (5-7) OR Sam Martino (8-6)
174: Victory Marcelli (8-4)
184: Michael Battista (12-11)
197: No. 9 Jay Aiello (15-4)
HWT: Quinn Miller (17-7) OR Robert Scherer (1-3)
A LOOK AT KENT STATE
Kent State enters the weekend with an overall record of 3-5 on the season and is coming off a win over SIU Edwardsville on Tuesday by a score of 25-15. Tim Rooney, a potential 133-pound matchup for Virginia’s Hayes, finished eighth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational earlier this season. At 174 pounds, Andrew McNally upset then sixth-ranked Daniel Bullard of NC State at the Cliff Keen, providing two weight classes where the Cavaliers and Flashes could see exciting matchups. Kent State finished 22nd at the Cliff Keen Invitational.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE HOOS
The Cavaliers are coming off a solid outing at the Franklin & Marshall Open with five wrestler placing at the tournament, including a first-place finish from heavyweight Quinn Miller. Also placing were Sam Book (2nd – 133 pounds), Brian Courtney (2nd – 141 pounds), Michael Battista (6th – 184 pounds) and Drew Peck (3rd – 184 pounds).
UP NEXT FOR VIRGINIA
The Cavaliers will return home for dual action next weekend with a pair of matches at Memorial Gym. Virginia will host Chattanooga at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, before hosting VMI at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18. Admission to all Virginia home matches at Memorial Gym is free to the public.