Hoos Down The Citadel At Throwdown On The Yorktown

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Virginia wrestling team (2-0) went on the road and picked up victory on Friday night (Nov. 8) as the Cavaliers defeated The Citadel (0-1) by a score of 24-11 at the Throwdown On The Yorktown. The event was wrestled on the deck of the U.S.S. Yorktown.

The evening’s second dual against Gardner-Webb was cancelled due to condensation on the mats creating slick conditions.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia got off to a quick start for the second straight dual, winning the first three bouts behind gritty performances from Keyveon Roller (125), Gable Porter (133) and Kyren Butler (141). Butler pushed the Cavaliers to a 9-0 lead as he picked up a sudden-victory decision at 141 pounds.

The Citadel got on the board with a victory at 149 pounds before Virginia rattled off three more decisions from Michael Gioffre (157), Nick Hamilton (165) and Rocco Contino (174). Gioffre took control of a 1-1 match in the third period to take is win and kick off the second run of the night for the Hoos. The three-match stretch was capped by Contino claiming victory with a takedown with 10 seconds left in the match to secure his win.

After Citadel wins at 184 and 197, Virginia’s Brenan Morgan put the exclamation point on the night with a pin in the first minute of the match to close out the dual.

NOTES ON THE DUALS

• With the win over The Citadel, the Cavaliers took the lead in the all-time series 5-4 and have won three straight duals against the Bulldogs.
• Brenan Morgan picked up his fifth consecutive pin of the season with his pin of Adam Ortega to close out the dual against The Citadel. All six of his victories this season are bonus-point victories.

FROM HEAD COACH STEVE GARLAND
“I want to thank Neal Collins for running this event. It was pretty amazing. I can honestly say I’ve never done anything quite like this and I trust our guys will remember it for the rest of their lives. Our team wrestled great again for the most part tonight.

“(Keyveon) Roller, Gable, Miggy (Michael Gioffre) and (Nick) Hamilton were very offensive minded and we love that. We took the majority of the shots and were aggressive in most bouts. Kyren (Butler) and Rocco (Contino) found a way to win in tough conditions. Our heavyweight, Brenan Morgan, continues to be so impressive. It was a good night all in all. I would say I’m proud of our team for not short circuiting on those slipper mats and staying the course. Again, lots of good stuff. There were some tough lessons, too, but we will get to work on that Monday.”

VIRGINIA 24, CITADEL 11
125: Keyveon Roller dec. Tyler Washburn (CIT), 15-8 – UVA 3, CIT 0
133: No. 33 Gable Porter dec. George Rosas (CIT), 5-0 – UVA 6, CIT 0
141: Kyren Butler dec. Thomas Terini (CIT), 4-1 (sv-1) – UVA 9, CIT 0
149: Carson DesRosier (CIT) dec. Erik Roggie, 2-1 – UVA 9, CIT 3
157: Michael Gioffre vs. Tyler Badgett (CIT), 8-3 – UVA 12, CIT 3
165: No. 12 Nick Hamilton dec. Thomas Snipes (CIT), 7-3 – UVA 15, CIT 3
174: Rocco Contino dec. Ben Haubert (CIT), 7-4 – UVA 18, CIT 3
184: No. 28 Billy Janzer (CIT) dec. Griffin Gammell, 7-3 – UVA 18, CIT 6
197: No. 28 Patrick Brophy (CIT) tech fall Max Shulaw, 27-12 (6:56) – UVA 18, CIT 11
285: Brenan Morgan pinned Adam Ortega (CIT), 0:54 – UVA 24, CIT 11

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia returns to action at home in two weeks when the Cavaliers host No. 10 Michigan on Sunday, November 24. The dual is set for a 7 p.m. start at Memorial Gym and admission is free.