After a two-week break from competition following a loss to No. 8 Michigan, the Virginia wrestling team was back in action with duals Friday and Saturday. The Cavaliers (4-1, 0-0 ACC) started off at home with a 25-11 win over Pennsylvania and then took a short drive to Lexington, Va., Saturday to beat VMI 40-3. The two wins restored Virginia’s momentum, and the team continues to look much improved this season.
Friday against Pennsylvania
The Cavaliers got off to a hot start against the Quakers (0-2, 0-0 Ivy), as the dual started with junior Nick Hamilton, the 15th-ranked wrestler in the 165 lbs class, winning in a 7-3 decision and putting Virginia on the board first. But Pennsylvania responded with a 6-3 win from senior Nick Icontrera, the highest-ranked wrestler on either team at No. 6.
From there on, it was Cavalier dominance. Graduate Justin Phillips secured a 7-0 victory to get Virginia back on track. Freshman Max Shulaw continued the winning streak by posting a 10-0 major decision over Quaker freshman Jackson Zimmerman. Senior Gabe Christenson continued to do what he has done all year by recording a win by tech fall. Suddenly, the Cavaliers held a 15-3 lead.
The dual evened out a bit after the run of wins, with Pennsylvania sophomore Max Gallagher winning by tech fall against junior Keyveon Roller. Virginia responded well, as sophomore Gable Porter won the next match in a 5-0 decision. But the Quakers struck yet again when sophomore Evan Mougalian got a 9-6 decision win over junior Kyren Butler. With just two matches left, the score was 18-11 in favor of Virginia. Both teams could win it.
However, the Cavaliers still had the Gioffre brothers. Juniors Jack and Michael Gioffre were the last two up for Virginia, and they did not disappoint. The pair won by a combined score of 15-5, with Jack Gioffre defeating a ranked opponent in freshman Cross Wasilewski and Michael Gioffre getting a major decision victory over freshman Paul Ognissanti. The brothers pushed the dual out of reach, securing the 25-11 win for the Cavaliers.
The win over the Quakers was an excellent way to start off the weekend for Virginia, and it got the Cavaliers on a roll heading into their second dual of the weekend. Coach Steve Garland loved the way the team competed against a quality opponent.
“We’ve been watching film, and we’ve watched all of their guys, and they are good throughout the lineup,” Garland said. “To come out and do what we did, to win the matches we won and pull off some of the upsets on paper [was outstanding].”
Saturday against VMI
The Cavaliers picked up right where they left off Friday against the Keydets (4-2, 0-0 Southern). Hamilton opened the day with a 12-5 decision victory over junior Ryan Vigil. Senior Rocco Contino extended the lead with an early pin of freshman Logan Chambers.
While the Keydets got on the board with junior Braxton Lewis getting a 9-8 decision win over junior Griffin Gammell, Virginia struck back when Shulaw got his second big win of the day by injury default in the second period. That gave the Cavaliers a 15-3 lead, just four matches in.
The wins continued to pile up as the dual went on. Christenson secured an 11-3 major decision victory, which was followed up by another major decision win by Roller. Another victory, this time a regular decision, by Porter pushed the lead to 26-3, effectively sealing the dual for Virginia.
Adding insult to VMI’s injury, Butler won his match by a 22-6 tech fall to make the lead 31-3. The Gioffre brothers were up next, and they took care of business the same way they did Friday. Jack Gioffre won with a 9-3 decision, and Michael Gioffre closed out the dual with a first-minute pin of sophomore Eric Doran, pushing the final margin to 40-3.
With another successful weekend under their belts, Virginia looks much deeper than last season after capturing big wins from top to bottom. With just a few more weeks until conference play begins, the Cavaliers will look to maintain their momentum to be successful in the ACC. Getting numerous bonus-point victories will serve them well, and it shows Virginia has the grit to wear teams down.
The Cavaliers will be back in action later this month at the Sheridan Tournament in Bethlehem, Pa. The tournament kicks off Dec. 20 and will be the first tournament for Virginia since Nov. 2.
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