Virginia Drops Commonwealth Clash Matchup On Friday Night At JPJ

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia wrestling team (7-3, 1-1 ACC) dropped its Commonwealth Clash matchup with No. 13 Virginia Tech (6-3, 2-0 ACC) by a score of 27-9 on Friday (Feb. 2) at JPJ Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hokies built the early lead despite some tight battles that included a 7-2 decision between second-ranked Caleb Henson and Erik Roggie of the Cavaliers at 141 pounds, and a 4-2 decision at 165 pounds as Nick Hamilton was edged by No. 23 Connor Brady. In a battle of ranked foes at 174 pounds, No. 14 Justin McCoy battled with No. 2 Mekhi Lewis in a 2-0 bout that was decided by an escape point and a riding time point.

The Cavaliers closed the night strong with a pair of bonus-point victories at 133 pounds and 141 pounds. Marlon Yarbrough took a 15-7 major decision over No. 11 Sam Latona, while Jack Gioffre was also dominant from start to finish in an 18-3 tech fall over Hunter Mason.

NOTES ON THE DUAL

• The Cavaliers and Hokies battled in front of 2,112 fans on Friday night in JPJ Arena.
• It was the first dual for the Cavaliers in JPJ Arena since the Hoos and Hokies wrestled there in the 2019 meeting.
• Marlon Yarbrough improved to 5-1 in dual action with his win over the nationally-ranked Latona.
• Jack Gioffre improved to 6-1 in dual action with his victory – his 10th bonus-point win of the season.

FROM HEAD COACH STEVE GARLAND
“I just want to make sure I thank everybody for coming out. That was a fantastic environment and a great atmosphere. I’m really thankful everybody showed up and supported these guys. Being in JPJ was huge for us. Obviously, I wish we would have wrestled better. They exposed us in some areas and out-wrestled us in a some positions. That was a wake-up call for some of our guys and now the hard part comes Monday; doing the right things to fix the mistakes and improve. But, we had some bright spots to build on with the way Marlon Yarbrough and Jack Gioffre finished, and the way Justin McCoy battled toe-to-toe with a national champion.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia will head back out on the road to continue ACC competition at No. 8 NC State on Friday (Feb. 9). The dual is set to begin at 7 p.m.

No. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 27, VIRGINIA 9
149: No. 2 Caleb Henson dec. Erik Roggie, 7-2 – VT 3, UVA 0
157: Clayton Ulrey major dec. No. 27 Dylan Cedeno, 10-1 – VT 7, UVA 0
165: No. 23 Connor Brady dec. Nick Hamilton, 4-2 – VT 10, UVA 0
174: No. 2 Mekhi Lewis dec. No. 14 Justin McCoy, 2-0 – VT 13, UVA 0
184: TJ Stewart tech fall Griffin Gammell, 20-5 (7:00) – VT 18, UVA 0
197: No. 26 Andy Smith dec. Krystian Kinsey, 10-3 – VT 21, UVA 0
285: No. 21 Hunter Catka dec. No. 33 Ryan Catka, 8-4 – VT 24, UVA 0
125: No. 6 Cooper Flynn dec. Kyle Montaperto, 4-2 – VT 27, UVA 0
133: Marlon Yarbrough major dec. No. 11 Sam Latona, 15-7 – VT 27, UVA 4
141: Jack Gioffre tech fall Hunter Mason, 18-3 (7:00), VT 27, UVA 9

SMITHFIELD COMMONWEALTH CLASH

• The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash is a rivalry between Virginia and Virginia Tech across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line.
• The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash trophy.
• Friday’s UVA-VT dual was worth a point in the Clash as the Cavaliers currently command a 6-2.5 lead in this year’s standings.
• Virginia captured the Clash in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2023, while Virginia Tech won the Clash in 2017, 2018 and 2022. The 2020 and 2021 clashes were canceled due to the pandemic.