Heading into ACC season, the Virginia wrestling team needs to make sure that they are fine-tuned, and they will get that opportunity Saturday when they face off against UNC-Greensboro. The Spartans are 3-1 in dual meets this season, with their lone loss coming to Buffalo.
"This match is a big match," Virginia coach Steve Garland said. "Greensboro matches well with us, they are a tough and up-and-coming program, they have a new coach who is doing a great job, so it's going to be a tough contest and they have beaten us head-to-head in a couple of different weight classes."
The importance of this meet is not lost on the players.
"It's real important to do well this weekend," sophomore Rocco Caponi said. "They are a real tough team with good hard-nosed guys and we are going out there to show that we are in a new era of Virginia wrestling."
This meet comes at a perfect time for the Cavaliers, who are coming off a 1-2 at the Virginia Duals this past weekend. Virginia defeated VMI, but lost to Arizona State and lost to in-state rival Old Dominion.
"It will be a nice recovery from a bad weekend at the Virginia Duals," Garland said. "Any time you fall off the horse you get right back on and this will be a way for us to get back on the horse and put in a good performance."
The Cavaliers' performance last weekend did not have to do with a lack of effort in practice but maybe a little too much effort, as Garland noted this week.
"Practice went great, in my eyes," Garland said. "Kids are working hard, we went over a lot of technique and I thought we made some major strides over break. However, I think we might have actually over-trained them because at the Virginia duals this past weekend we looked tired and sluggish, so I think in hindsight we learned a tough lesson and maybe we need to pull back and rest some guys."
Garland emphasized a different approach for the upcoming match.
"This week we are trying to rest our guys a little bit and keep their legs fresh for this match against UNC-Greensboro," he said.
The meet at home will also be a welcome sight to the Cavaliers. Their last home meet was Nov. 11 and this is only their second home meet of the season.
"Since it's our first home meet in a while we want to go out there and put on a good show," Caponi said. "It's all about wrestling tough and we will get the momentum as we go."
As far as tactics are concerned, Virginia wants to stay aggressive and implement a physical style this weekend.
"We want to get the guys a little more mean and implement a bruiser style of wrestling and get back into what the sport is really all about," Caponi said.
With Virginia's two biggest rivals in North Carolina and Virginia Tech coming up after Saturday, this match is huge for the momentum of the Cavaliers.
"Hopefully we will get this big win this weekend," Garland said. "We also just want to put in a very good effort and make sure my guys are fighting for every point. That way we can also get some mental momentum going into the next ACC run."
Read More
Buchanan jolts arena with season-best performance
By Michael Liebermann | 19 hours agoRon Sanchez challenged his players to rebound better, and Buchanan answered resoundingly.
Third-quarter surge pushes women’s basketball ahead of Virginia Tech
By Lauren Halak | 19 hours agoVirginia conquered its rival, earning an ever-important ACC victory.
With last-second three-pointer, SMU silences men’s basketball
By Michael Liebermann and Thomas Baxter | YesterdayThe late shot crushed a bouncing arena.
