After a dominant win Sunday over American, Virginia wrestling got a small break before Friday’s home match against No. 18 Pittsburgh. It was senior night, and the Cavaliers (6-6, 1-5 ACC) honored many in their ranks. Virginia grinded out matches against the Panthers (10-6, 3-3 ACC), but in the end it fell short too many times and lost 23-13.
“The theme of the night for me is we have to continue to wrestle the third period like we do in the first period,” Coach Steve Garland said. “We have to stick to the game plan we work on all week.
The dual started at 149 lbs, with junior Jack Gioffre taking on sophomore Finn Solomon. The first period was a stalemate, as neither wrestler earned points. Gioffre got on the board with an escape in the second period, but the period saw no further points. Gioffre then piled on the points in the third period, going up 5-0 and putting Solomon in a rough spot. Solomon got an escape to close the gap. He then went for a big move with just seconds left and came away with a takedown. However, time ran out and Gioffre got the 5-4 victory.
Junior Michael Gioffre, after his brother’s win, was up next for the Cavaliers against redshirt freshman Dylan Evans. Gioffre’s match, like his brother’s, featured a stalemate in the first period and a struggle for the first point. Evans got on the board immediately in the second period with an escape, but the rest of the period was still very defensive. Down 1-0 in the third period, Gioffre reached do-or-die time. He got an escape to level the score at 1-1 with just 100 seconds to go. Evans started to dominate, and Gioffre resisted, but right at the end Evans got a takedown to win the match and level the score of the dual at 3-3.
Junior Nick Hamilton looked to get Virginia back in the lead against sophomore Jared Keslar. Yet again, the match saw no points scored in the first period. Hamilton got on the board early in the second period with an escape, but that was the only point before the final period. Keslar evened the match early in the third period with an escape of his own, but a stall call gave Hamilton the lead. With the clock ticking down, Keslar had to do something to take the lead. However, Hamilton’s defense earned him a 2-1 win, giving the Cavaliers a 6-3 advantage.
Hoping to continue the Virginia momentum, senior Rocco Contino stepped onto the mat to face junior Luca Augustine. Yet again, this dual saw a scoreless first period as Augustine dodged Contino’s advances. Augustine got an escape point to open the second, and then scored a takedown and a near fall to increase his lead to six. Augustine rode Contino to end the second period, increasing his odds of more points. With a big takedown to start the third period, Augustine was guaranteed to earn bonus points. With the clock racing down, Augustine kept making big moves to push for a technical fall. He got it with another late takedown, giving Pittsburgh an 8-6 lead.
At 184 lbs, graduate student Justin Phillips was determined to take the lead back against graduate student Reece Heller. Yet again, the first period was a scoreless stalemate. A reversal gave Heller a 2-0 lead early in the second period, and he followed it up by increasing his riding time up past a minute. A Phillips escape narrowed the deficit to just one point before the third period. The third period started fast, with a Heller takedown and a Phillips escape making the score 5-3. With little time left, neither wrestler wanted to give an inch. However, little changed and Heller won to make it 11-6 in favor of the Panthers.
Fifth-year Ethan Weatherspoon knew it was time to start closing the deficit, but he had a tough task as his opponent was sophomore Mac Stout, a top-10 wrestler at 197 lbs. Stout set the tone with a quick takedown and then rode Weatherspoon for almost two minutes in the first period. The second period was more Stout dominance, as he got an escape and then a takedown to go up 7-0. From there, Stout sought bonus points. He kept upping his ride time while earning takedowns, and he secured a 12-2 major decision win that made the lead 15-6.
In the heavyweight match, senior Gabe Christenson went to the mat to take on sophomore Dayton Pitzer. Despite being the unranked wrestler of the pair, Christenson used his size well, forcing the smaller Pitzer to the edge of the mat consistently. It paid off, as he scored a takedown towards the end of the first period. A couple of escapes closed Pitzer’s deficit to one point and turned the momentum in his favor. A takedown and a near fall gave Pitzer the lead, and he never looked back. Pitzer absolutely dominated, winning 18-3 and putting Pittsburgh awfully close to the overall victory.
Junior Keyveon Roller had the task of starting a comeback in a ranked matchup with graduate Nick Babin. Roller opened the scoring with a first period takedown, but Babin earned an escape to cut the lead to two points by the end of the opening period. A Babin takedown near the end of the second period gave him the lead going into the final frame. With the riding time in his favor too, Babin just needed to avoid a takedown and he would win. He did so, and Babin earned a 5-3 win to seal the dual for the Panthers.
With just two matches to go, sophomore Gable Porter took to the mat to face redshirt freshman Tyler Chappell. Porter got a takedown in the first period to set the tone, and followed it up with a near fall to extend his lead. The second period was largely bland, and Porter held a 6-1 lead entering the final period. Some big moves from Porter sealed his victory in the third period by a 11-1 score, making the score 23-10 with just one match to go.
Fifth-year Dylan Cedeno took to the mat for his last home match as a Cavalier as he took on sophomore Briar Priest. The highest-ranked Virginia wrestler got off to a hot start with a takedown 90 seconds in. However, a foot to the face right after put Cedeno’s night in jeopardy. While he did return, Priest looked to have some momentum. He scored a quick escape, and then was able to get a big lead in riding time. However, it was not enough as Cedeno soon erased the riding time gap and won in a very defensive third period, 4-2. This capped Pittsburgh’s 23-13 win.
While the loss stung for Virginia coming on senior night, the durability and grit of the Cavalier squad bodes well entering the postseason. Given that the Panthers were also a top-20 team in the nation, coming within 10 points of them is a good achievement.
“We break down a ton of film and have a lot of individual drills,” Garland said. “Our guys have to bring that out there and the guys who did that tonight were very successful.”
When every match could be each wrestler’s last, Virginia will have to grind out every point and win possible. It will be important to keep the good momentum up if the Cavaliers want to have a shot at an ACC title.
The Cavaliers will be back in action at the ACC Championships in a couple weeks. The event will be March 9 in Durham, N.C.
Read More
Gary Martin: ‘the quintessential college athlete’
By Caroline Wulff | 42 minutes agoMartin dominates for the Cavaliers, and it's all part of the process.
No. 12 Virginia men's lacrosse stumbles in 5-14 defeat at Ohio State
By Eleanor Lynch | 1 hours agoThe Cavaliers fall to 2-2 after an ugly loss.
No. 2 Virginia women’s tennis dominates No. 19 Clemson in ACC opener
By Gracie Genereux | 6 hours agoThe Cavaliers, in their first match in more than 10 days, pounded the visiting Tigers.
