The Virginia wrestling team (2-7, 0-1) will face off against a pair of in-state rivals this weekend. The Cavaliers will host James Madison on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Virginia Tech at the same time Sunday.
The injury-ravaged Cavaliers are hoping to use this weekend to help jumpstart their season.
The team is coming off a weekend in which they lost to North Carolina on Friday but finished second in the Virginia Quad Meet on Saturday. Sophomore Tim Foley won all four of his matches in the 157-pound weight class, but it was not enough for the depleted Cavaliers.
"We have remained as banged up as we have been in my history here," coach Lenny Bernstein said. "Our starters that are wrestling are wrestling well."
Four current Virginia starters are injured, two of whom are national qualifiers. Sophomore Joe Alexander, who wrestles at 133, has missed the last three matches and senior captain Jimi Massey has been sidelined for the last two meets. Juniors Brian Muir and Bob Seidel also have been hit with the injury bug. Seidel was able to wrestle in the Virginia Quad Meet and won two of his three matches at 141 after sitting out against North Carolina.
"I think we should beat James Madison fairly easily," junior Don Carlo-Clauss said. "Virginia Tech will be a tough match. A lot depends on if we can get guys that are hurt wrestling. We have to have everything go perfectly, but we're going into the meet expecting to win."
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Virginia is familiar with both teams, having faced off against them in the Virginia Intercollegiates on Jan. 19. The Cavaliers finished second in that tournament, behind the Hokies but ahead of the fifth-place Dukes. Virginia won seven of the 12 matches in which a Cavalier wrestler faced someone from James Madison.
"I expect to beat James Madison even banged up," Bernstein said. "If we get back two of our missing four, then we're a pretty good team."
In addition to the Virginia Intercollegiates, Virginia lost a close 21-18 battle to Virginia Tech at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 11. The Cavaliers actually won five of the 10 matches, but Virginia Tech won as a result of two victories by fall.
At Virginia Intercollegiates, the Cavaliers and Hokies split the 12 matches in which they faced each other. The Virginia wrestlers anticipate more of the same.
"We're expecting a tough match," Foley said. "It came down to the final match [last time]. We're going to give them a run."
The most important thing for the Cavaliers is the health of their wrestlers. If they are healthy, a win and revenge against Virginia Tech for the earlier defeat are possible.
"We have to be healthy to beat" Virginia Tech, Bernstein said. "We have to win one match we didn't win in the dual meet, [which is] not a lot"
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