After a two-week break from competition, Virginia wrestling was back in action Friday with a dual against No. 8 Michigan at Memorial Gymnasium. While the Cavaliers (2-0, 0-0 ACC) started off hot this year with wins over North Dakota State and The Citadel, they had not faced a team ranked nearly as high as the Wolverines (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten). Virginia’s momentum was put to a halt in a 29-12 defeat.
The dual started at the 157-lbs class, and from the beginning, Michigan proved why it is ranked in the top 10. Graduate student Chase Saldate, the 12th ranked wrestler in the class, struck first for the Wolverines when he defeated junior Michael Gioffre by major decision 13-3. While this was a rough first match for the Cavaliers, it was only a sign of things to come.
Junior Nick Hamilton was up next for Virginia in the 165-lbs class as he looked to add onto his 2-0 record on the season. However, he lost to freshman Brock Mantanona by another major decision that extended the Wolverine lead to eight points early.
As if the start could not get any worse for the Cavaliers, Michigan won another major decision when senior Joseph Walker defeated senior Rocco Contino 16-5. With Virginia down 12-0, the dual looked nearly over before half the matches had occurred.
Needing a big win to generate a possible comeback, the Cavaliers looked to their heavier weight classes to get the job done. Unfortunately, that is where the Wolverines thrive. Senior and 18th-ranked Jaden Bullock took on Virginia’s unranked junior Griffin Gammell next in the 184-lbs match. While Gammell held on for a while, Bullock still came out with a 9-4 win that added three points to the Michigan total.
Next, graduate student Jacob Cardenas, the third ranked wrestler in the 197-lbs class, took on fifth-year Ethan Weatherspoon. Once again, the Wolverines picked up a huge win via tech fall, and the lead now was all the way up to 20-0.
Luckily, there was a small light at the end of the tunnel for the Cavaliers. Senior Gabe Christenson continued his undefeated season by winning in a 4-1 decision over Michigan junior Dzhabrail Khrushidov. With Virginia on the board and the matches turned back over to the 125-lbs class, it seemed as if momentum might change.
Junior Keyveon Roller kept things rolling with a win by major decision in his match, narrowing the score to 20-7. With just three matches left, the Cavaliers needed victories in all of them to complete their comeback.
However, victory was not in the cards for Virginia. In the 133-lbs class, sophomore Gable Porter was simply outmatched fighting against graduate student Dylan Ragusin, the fourth-ranked wrestler in the class. Ragusin won via major decision to seal the dual win for the Wolverines.
Adding insult to injury, Michigan sophomore Sergio Lemley won the 141-lbs match via tech fall over junior Kyren Butler to extend the lead to 29-7 before the final match.
With a loss inevitable, the best thing the Cavaliers could do was finish the day out strong. Junior Jack Gioffre was able to accomplish this when he won by tech fall over the Wolverines’ sophomore Nathan Jerore. The dual finished at 29-12 in favor of Michigan, who Coach Steve Garland had nothing but praise for after the match.
“We’re better than we showed, but they are a great team and ranked No. 8 for a reason and full credit to them,” Garland said.
While this sizable loss was unfortunate for Virginia, there were some positives. Christenson, Gioffre and Roller all looked great in their matches, and multiple wins with extra points is a good sign for future duals. In a test against one of the best programs in the country, the Cavaliers stood tall and got some hard fought wins, proving they will be competitive against later competition.
Virginia has a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday before it is back in action against Penn Dec. 6. The dual will start at 7 p.m. and will be in Memorial Gymnasium.
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