This weekend is the final home match for one of this season's most successful Cavalier teams. The Virginia wrestling team is hot right now, and they have been for quite some time. Luckily for the Cavaliers, this fire came at precisely the right time. Virginia just finished the ACC season with a perfect 4-0 record and they will have their final dual match of the season this Saturday when they host American University at Memorial Gymnasium at 1:00 p.m.
This season, Virginia has recorded an overall performance of 11-5, the 11 wins tying coach Lenny Bernstein's best mark, set in the 1996-97 season. This season also marks the first time Bernstein has led the Cavaliers to a perfect ACC record in his ten years as coach at Virginia.
The Cavaliers' last loss came on Jan. 25 against The Citadel -- a heartbreaking 19-17 defeat. Since then, the Cavaliers have been unstoppable, as they have won 10 of their last 11 dual matches, including seven straight. Along with this impressive dual match record, the Cavaliers also posted a first place finish at the Virginia Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships. According to Cavalier senior Brian Muir, the key to the Virginia's success has been teamwork.
"I think everyone is working together and just starting to wrestle better as a team," Muir said.
But the Cavaliers also are finding a lot of success as individuals. Freshman Brian Sticca is closing in on one of those individual milestones. Sticca is two victories away from the Virginia freshman record for victories in a season. Sticca maintains, however, that he is not focused on that feat, but rather on the Cavaliers' success as a team.
"We're looking just to finish out our dual season strong," Sticca said. "To go out hard, and just to finish our season on a good note. We're gonna go out there and wrestle as hard as we can, just like any other match."
Virginia is very confident heading into their match against American, as well they should be. American comes into the match with a record of 2-15.
"I think we should beat American pretty good," Muir said. "They have one good kid as far as I know at 165. Other than that, I think we should hopefully pretty much dominate them."
Senior Marc Hoffer leads the Eagles at 149 pounds.Hoffer is the all-time leader in wins at American with 125 career victories. At 125 pounds, an experienced senior for American, Willie Harris will test Sticca. Harris was a qualifier for the 2002 NCAA Tournament and has 66 career victories.
The Cavaliers and the Eagles have had five common opponents this season. The Cavaliers went 3-2 in those matches, while American posted an abysmal 0-5 record against the same competition.
After the American match, the Cavaliers will have a two-week hiatus before traveling to the ACC Tournament on March 8 in Boone, NC.The tournament will be held at Appalachian State University.
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