After a busy week that saw Virginia wrestling dominate North Dakota State in a dual and then compete in the Southeast Open the next day, the Cavaliers (2-0, 0-0 ACC) got a weeklong break before the Throwdown on the Yorktown Friday in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. This notable set of duals was played on the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier built during World War II that is now a museum ship. Virginia picked up a 24-11 win against Citadel before seeing its dual against Gardner-Webb canceled due to condensation on the mats.
The Cavaliers opened up their day against the Bulldogs (0-1, 0-0 SoCon) with a hot start. Junior Keyveon Roller wrestled first and promptly gave the team three points with a 15-8 win over Citadel freshman Tyler Washburn. This momentum continued early on in the match, with both sophomore Gable Porter and junior Kyren Butler each also winning by decision. Porter won 5-0, and Butler won 4-1 to extend the Virginia lead to nine.
With their backs against the wall early, the Bulldogs needed a win to turn things around, and they got one. Despite a good fight from senior Erik Roggie, redshirt sophomore Carson DesRosier picked up a 2-1 win for Citadel, closing the deficit to six. However, this would be where the Bulldogs’ luck ended.
The Cavaliers dominated the middle weight groups. Junior Michael Gioffre got Virginia back on track with a strong 8-3 win by decision over his opponent. Junior Nick Hamilton, the highest ranked Cavalier at No. 12 in his weight group nationally, followed this up with another win by decision.
Finally, senior Rocco Contino pulled off a clutch maneuver in the final seconds to earn a 7-4 win by decision over Citadel senior Ben Haubert. By the end of this run, the Virginia lead went from six to 15. The Cavaliers looked destined to win their second dual of the season.
That being said, the Bulldogs did not go down without a fight. Graduate student Billy Janzer started to turn the tide in favor of Citadel by defeating junior Griffin Gammell in a 7-3 decision. Then, redshirt sophomore Patrick Brophy, the only ranked Bulldog competing, got the biggest win of the day for Citadel. Brophy was able to win by tech fall over Virginia freshman Max Shulaw. This run cut the lead down to seven.
But, it would all be for naught. Freshman Brenan Morgan continued his dominant run from last week’s open, where he pinned four straight opponents. Morgan did not skip a beat, pinning his fifth consecutive opponent to seal a 24-11 win for the Cavaliers. Morgan is one of a few incredible heavyweight wrestlers Virginia has this season, and the team will look to rely on them in key final duals to take care of business.
After a short break, the Cavaliers would have been back on the mat to take on the Runnin’ Bulldogs (0-2, 0-0 SoCon), but the cancellation of the match marked the end of the day for Virginia. The Cavaliers have never lost to Gardner-Webb in the 10 times the two opponents have faced off, so Virginia would have liked its odds to go 2-0 on the day had they gotten the chance.
Even with just the one match Friday, this electric start to the season has proven that the Cavaliers are a force to be reckoned with this year. Considering the team has won multiple duals without the help of stars like senior Marlon Yarbrough II and junior Nick Sanko, it is clear that they will be ready for conference play and can compete with the upper echelon of teams.
The Cavaliers will have a two-week long break before getting back into action for a home dual against Michigan. The dual will occur on Nov. 24 and will start at 7 p.m.
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