Senior weekend was a success for the Virginia wrestling team, as the squad picked up its first two conference wins of the season.
The Cavaliers (11-10, 2-2 ACC) faced N.C. State (4-13, 0-4 ACC) Saturday in the first of two meets, and after staking an early lead, Virginia held on to top the Wolfpack 24-13 at home.
The bout between Virginia sophomore Nick Nelson and N.C. State senior Joe Caramanica at the 141-pound weight class was arguably the highlight of Saturday’s win, as the two grapplers fought through three periods and overtime to knot the score at 1-1. In the second tiebreaker, Caramanica pulled out an escape to take the edge, but Nelson came back. The Cavalier sophomore, ranked No. 17 in the nation by InterMat, notched a takedown in the final seconds for a 3-2 victory.
“That was such a huge win [for Nelson],” coach Steve Garland said. “Caramanica is an ACC Champion and has been ranked as high as ninth in the country this season. It’s the way Nick beat him — in overtime with 20 seconds left — he took Caramanica down and the place goes nuts. That’s the kind of stuff we want in this gym.”
Another important bout took place in the 174-pound class between sophomore Chris Henrich and Wolfpack freshman Jacob Burge. Henrich was able to pull out a 4-3 win, bringing his season record to 32-1 and snapping Burge’s eight-bout win streak.
In the 165-pound weight class, Virginia senior Mike Sewell escaped in the second period against N.C. State freshman Quinton Godley to score a 1-0 victory.
One day after grappling with the Wolfpack, the Cavaliers capitalized on an emotional edge from Senior Day by toppling another conference foe, Duke (8-4, 1-3 ACC). The Virginia mat men took an early 12-5 lead after junior Calvin Cardillo pulled out a 2-0 victory against Duke redshirt sophomore Robert Holbrook in the heavyweight division, and did not look back.
Senior Peter Ferrara, wrestling in his final home bout, added to Virginia’s edge. After mounting an early 7-0 lead against Blue Devil sophomore A.J. Guardado in the first period, Ferrara cruised to a 13-2 victory in the 149-pound weight class.
The biggest bout of the day pitted Sewell against Duke senior Addison Nuding in Sewell’s second extended test of the weekend. The contest was close throughout, but Sewell managed to rally in the third to go into sudden-victory time. After 13 seconds in the extra period, Sewell took down Nuding to secure the 4-2 decision and close out his career in Memorial Gymnasium.
“This was our last one [at home],” Nelson said, “It meant a lot to the seniors. It was a big match, and they really wanted to leave a lasting impression.”
This weekend also marked a turning point for the Cavaliers. Hampered by multiple injuries, including an illness to senior Rocco Caponi, the Cavaliers finally found a way to push through and get the job done against ACC competition.
“I think that you can see that it is the beginning of a new era,” Ferrara said. “Just to show the depth our team has, with all of the guys we have out, that we can still step up in matches against Duke and N.C. State and finish the season off with a bang.”
With only one match remaining before the ACC Championships, the Cavaliers hope to use these victories as a springboard to greater success.
“As a team, it feels pretty good,” Nelson said. “We don’t look at the past; we don’t worry about our record. When it comes times for the ACC Tournament and the NCAAs, that’s when we will be ready.”
The Cavaliers head to Maryland for their final match of the regular season Sunday.
“We have to use this effort as a motivating factor going through this week and as momentum going into the Maryland match,” Garland said.
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