The Virginia wrestling team takes a hot streak on the road this weekend to Blacksburg to face in-state foe, Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers (4-5, 1-0 ACC) have won four of their last five contests, including a first place finish in the Virginia Intercollegiate Championships two weeks ago and an upset of North Carolina last Friday. Though Virginia Tech (0-8) has not won a dual match all season, Saturday's contest should prove to be another heated installment of this traditionally intense intrastate match.
"Its always a big in-state rivalry," senior Bob Seidel said. "There's been a lot of stuff over the years that makes it a little more exciting each time we go against them. I think we have a good shot at beating them."
Judging by this season's performance, the Cavaliers seem to have the upper hand. Virginia beat out five other schools to win the State Intercollegiate championships, and team members seemed quite satisfied with their performances.
"We wrestled real well at the Inter-Collegiates as a team," Seidel said. "We missed two starters and we still won the tournament, so the whole squad did real well."
Virginia Tech, however, did not compete in the championships, leaving some Cavaliers feeling a bit unfulfilled. Furthermore, the Hokies squeaked by the Cavaliers last season, winning 21-19 in Charlottesville. Saturday's match stands as an opportunity for the Cavaliers to enact some revenge and to see how far they've progressed.
"We're really motivated because we won the Virginia State Championships, but Tech was not there this year," Seidel said. "So this is our shot."
Senior Scott Justus stands as the Hokies' best wrestler. The 184-pounder is ranked in the top twenty in the nation, and owns an 8-3 record. Last season Justus recorded one of the best records in Tech history, going 29-0 in the regular season, and becoming the first Hokie wrestler to be seeded No. 1 in the NCAA tournament. This December, Justus recorded Tech's only victory during a loss to No. 3 Minnesota.
While Virginia Tech has an advantage at 184, Virginia's recent strengths have come at 141 and heavyweight, where they boast two consecutive ACC wrestlers of the week in Seidel and senior heavyweight Josh Etu. In Virginia's dramatic victory over North Carolina, Etu scored a clutch pin over his opponent that kept the Cavaliers alive. The win ended a 28-year drought against the Tar Heels and raised Virginia's expectations for the rest of the season.
"The season is going pretty well," Seidel said. "Its the first time in a lot of years we beat UNC.Coming off that win should be good for us going up against Tech, emotionally. We just have to stay focused and work hard in practice."
Should Virginia win Saturday, they will reach .500 heading into what is quite literally the home stretch in which five of their last seven meets will be in Onesty Hall. Winning on the road is tough in any sport, and a victory over Tech would give the Cavaliers another huge dose of confidence.
"They beat us last year, but we think we should be able to beat them this year," Etu said. "A lot of our injured guys are coming back. They've graduated a few guys so we should be able to win this time."
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