Virginia Drops Tight Dual At No. 8 Virginia Tech, 19-15
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Bonus points proved to be the difference on Friday night (Jan. 22) as Virginia (1-2, 0-2 ACC) dropped its dual match at No. 8 Virginia Tech (5-0, 1-0 ACC) by a score of 19-15. Each team won five weight classes, but a tech fall and a pair of major decisions for the Hokies provided the final margin of victory.
The Cavaliers got wins by decision from Brian Courtney (Athens, Pa.) at 141 pounds, 15th-ranked Justin McCoy (New Paris, Pa.) at 157 pounds, Vic Marcelli (Massillon, Ohio) at 174 pounds, third-ranked Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) at 197 pounds and No. 20 Quinn Miller (Lilburn, Ga.) at heavyweight.
It marks the second straight year with a four-point margin for the victor as bonus-points have been crucial in determining victory in back-to-back meetings between the teams. Last year’s match was a 20-16 final score in favor of the seventh-ranked Hokies.
Virginia will return to action next weekend, hosting No. 12 Pittsburgh in a 5 p.m. dual on Friday (Jan. 29) at Memorial Gym. It is the first of back-to-back home duals for the Cavaliers who then close out the home schedule against Duke (Feb. 5).
MATCH NOTES
• Brian Courtney moved to 5-1 on the season as he picked up the 8-3 decision over Sam Hillegas at 141 pounds.
• Justin McCoy improved to 5-1 on the season with his 3-2 decision over Connor Brady at 157 pounds.
• Vic Marcelli picked up his first dual win of the season with a 6-4 decision over Dakota Hunter at 174 pounds.
• Jay Aiello improved to 6-0 on the season and has now won in 24 consecutive dual matches back to 2019 season.
• Quinn Miller is now 5-1 on the season and won his bout against the Hokies for the second consecutive season.
• In extra matches, freshman Dylan Cedeno (Fair Lawn, N.J.) lost his first match of the year 7-6 on an advantage time point.
• Robby Patrick (Ligonier, Pa.) picked up his second pin of the season, both of them coming in the first period.
• Freshman Hudson Stewart () moved to 4-1 on the season with his victory at 184 pounds in the extra matches.
FROM HEAD COACH STEVE GARLAND
“Losing hurts and we aren’t happy, but we had a five and five split with a really good team tonight. You have to give credit to Virginia Tech for getting the bonus and that was the difference in the match. They are well coached and are always a tough out. We are progressing, though. I trust what we are doing and I love our team. The final score the last two weeks hasn’t shown the growth we see in our team to the folks outside the four walls of our wrestling room. But, we see it. We know where we are going.”
No. 8 Virginia Tech 19, Virginia 15
125: No. 10 Sam Latona (VT) tech fall Sam Book, 18-3 (7:00); VT 5, UVA 0
133:.No. 8 Korbin Myers (VT) major dec. No. 12 Louie Hayes, 12-1; VT 9, UVA 0
141: Brian Courtney dec. Sam Hillegas (VT), 8-3
149: 12 Bryce Andonian (VT) major dec. Denton Spencer, 8-0; VT 13, UVA 3
157: No. 15 Justin McCoy dec. Connor Brady (VT), 3-2; VT 13, UVA 6
165: No. 1 Mekhi Lewis (VT) dec. No. 15 Jake Keating, 8-1; VT 16 ,UVA 6
174: Vic Marcelli dec. Dakota Howard (VT), 6-4; VT 16, UVA 9
184: No. 2 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. Michael Battista, 10-4; VT 19, UVA 9
197: No. 3 Jay Aiello dec. Andy Smith (VT), 10-3; VT 19, UVA 12
HWT: No. 20 Quinn Miller dec. Hunter Catka (VT), 4-0; VT 19, UVA 15
Additional Matches
141: Collin Gerardi (VT) dec. Dylan Cedeno, 7-6
149: Caden Darber (VT) major dec. Ray Costa, 14-5
157: Clayton Ulrey (VT) major dec. Nic Sansone, 12-4
174: Robby Patrick pinned Sam Fisher (VT), 1:02
184: Hudson Stewart dec. Nate Warden, 8-6 (sv-1)
197: Stan Smeltzer (VT) dec. Ethan Weatherspoon, 2-1