CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia wrestling team (9-7, 1-4 ACC) dropped a Smithfield Commonwealth Clash matchup against No. 7 Virginia Tech(9-2, 4-0 ACC) by a score of 32-7 on Friday (Feb. 6) at JPJ Arena.
NOTING THE HOOS
- Gable Porter improved to 19-6 on the season and 9-3 in dual action with his major decision victory over Drew Gorman at 141 pounds. It was Porter’s seventh major decision of the season.
- Wynton Denkins picked up a 3-2 decision over No. 6 Collin Gaj at 149 pounds for his highest ranked win over the season. Denkins is now 15-9 on the season and it was his sixth match against a top-10 opponent this season.
THE SMITHFIELD COMMONWEALTH CLASH
• The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), has been a part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014.
- It is an all-sports, points-based program with the Commonwealth Clash trophy presented to the winning school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions.
- In wrestling, the matchup counts for one point. After Friday’s result, Virginia leads the competition by a score of 5.5-2.5.
FROM HEAD COACH STEVE GARLAND
“Gable Porter has been sick all week and for him to get a win, let alone a major decision, was big. Every ounce of energy he had was expended in that match. It was beautiful to watch and that’s what you want to see. Wynton Denkins may have posted the biggest win of his career. He’s been so close all year and wrestled a lot of close ones, so to break through and get that win was huge. Colton wrestled his heart out at 157 pounds. When you wrestle like that and lose, there is pain but no regret. Regret can weight you down, but pain you can deal with. It fired up our crowd and our team needed to see that.”
“Huge thanks to everyone who came out. I apologize that we didn’t perform better, but I’m so thankful for the support. This place was packed. We got to recognize Coach George Edwards tonight; when you talk about impact over outcome, there is a guy who has impacted more lives than you could possibly imagine.”
UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia returns to action in two weeks when the Cavaliers travel to face No. 12 Pittsburgh on Friday, February 20.
No. 7 VIRGINIA TECH 32, VIRGINIA 7
125: No. 3 Eddie Ventresca tech fall Rocco Hayes, 20-5 (6:39) – VT 5, UVA 0
133: No. 6 Aaron Seidel tech fall Marlon Yarbrough, 15-0 (3:54) – VT 10, UVA 0
141: Gable Porter major dec. Drew Gorman, 10-4 – VT 10, UVA 4
149: Wynton Denkins dec. No. 6 Collin Gaj, 3-2 – VT 10, UVA 7
157: No. 16 Ethen Miller dec. No. 30 Colton Washleski, 4-3 (TB-1) – VT 13, UVA 7
165: Mac Church dec. Michael Murphy, 5-1 – VT 16, UVA 7
174: No. 31 Sergio Desiante major dec. No. 27 Nick Hamilton, 15-4 – VT 20, UVA 7
184: No. 32 Jaden Bullock major dec. Jack Lesher, 11-2 – VT 24, UVA 7
197: No. 14 Sonny Sasso major dec. Steven Burrell Jr., 9-1 – VT 28, UVA 7
285: No. 17 Jimmy Mullen major dec. Brenan Morgan, 14-6 – VT 32, UVA 7