The Virginia wrestling team travels to North Carolina this weekend for three dual matches before the ACC season begins.
The Cavaliers wrestle tough-nosed Appalachian State Saturday in Boone, N.C. The Mountaineers are 7-5 in dual meets, including a win over UNC-Greensboro in Boone last Saturday. Some of the Cavaliers have already faced the Mountaineers this season after both teams participated in the Southern Scuffle at the end of December.
While the Cavaliers finished sixth, Appalachian State finished 17th. The Mountaineers will present a challenge for Virginia, and coach Steve Garland said he is looking forward to the meet.
"I want to get down to App. State," Garland said. "They have a thousand people for their matches, which is great for us."
The Mountaineers have one ranked wrestler, senior Scott Ervin, who stands No. 13 nationally at 24-5. Ervin leads a team that Garland said many people underestimate.
"I put them on the schedule because I know how good they are," Garland said. "Everyone thinks we're just going to roll over them. Trust me, it's going to be a battle."
The Cavaliers will travel Sunday to Greensboro, N.C., where they will face UNC-Greensboro and Davidson. In dual meets this season Davidson is 1-3, placing 28th out of 30 at the Southern Scuffle. Although the Wildcats' record is not impressive, junior Sam O'Hair was named the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week last week and should lead a determined Wildcat squad.
UNC-Greensboro presents a stiffer challenge on its home mat, especially in a meet that will sway the decisions of regional recruits.
"UNCG is always tough," Garland said. "We always want to put them on our schedule and [we] recruit against them regionally. They're very close to us."
Greensboro has compiled a 4-4 record in dual meets this season, including the loss to Appalachian State and a win over Ohio University. The Spartans hosted the Southern Scuffle and finished tied for 15th.
Individually, Greensboro boasts one wrestler in the national rankings, senior Daren Burns, who enters the meet ranked No. 11 at 197 pounds with a record of 22-3.
The Cavaliers will use this weekend as a transition between the two halves of their season. After compiling an impressive 10-3 dual-meet mark and breaking into the national top 25, Virginia now stands before its conference regular season.
"Hopefully our kids will step up and win [the Appalachian State meet] and we beat Greensboro, we beat Davidson, and we're 3-0," Garland said. "That's obviously the goal: coming out of that in a nice huge upswing. Could you imagine being 13-3 going into the ACC schedule? We'd be pretty happy with that."
After beginning the season 7-1 in dual meets, the Cavaliers have put up strong showings at three team tournaments in the last month. On top of the sixth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle, Virginia placed second at the Virginia Intercollegiate Championships and went 3-2 at the Virginia Duals. Although the team is not top-10 material, it is certainly improving.
"We've gotten better in certain positions and I think the kids are definitely learning," Garland said. "I think we've definitely gotten a lot of the system down; however, we've got a long way to go. I think in order for us to break the top 10, we definitely need to keep working on that system and keep polishing some things."
The Cavaliers have also been garnering some individual recognition. Junior Rocco Caponi continues to succeed, compiling a 26-1 record to stay in the top 10 at 184 pounds. Although he missed the Virginia Intercollegiate Championships because of illness, he is ready for the meets in North Carolina.
"I'm just looking forward to staying on the mat and getting out there and wrestling," Caponi said. "All these are respectable teams and we have to go at them, wrestle every match like it's the national finals. So we're hoping to go down there, crack some skulls and do our best."
Redshirt sophomore Brent Jones has only recently come on strong after preseason recognition, and he remains in the top 20 at 197 pounds. When the Cavaliers face Greensboro Sunday, Jones and Burns will recreate Jones' first collegiate match, which Jones won.
Burns "was my first-ever college match, two years ago," Jones said. "He was ranked sixth at the time and I ended up beating him, so he's a little mad."
The Cavaliers look to use this weekend to focus their efforts and prepare mentally for ACC competition and to make a run at the ACC title. Jones said he thinks the team is doing well and is in perfect position for the rest of the season.
"When you come off losses like that, the tough ones just give you more motivation to do better, and it shows you your weaknesses," Jones said. "I think we're going to come on strong for the ACCs and these last duals meets. This whole second half of the season is about peaking at the right time. Coach has been able to do that with a lot of guys, like Rocco and Albright last year. I think he is going to have us ready to go"
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