After a triumphant 39-0 victory over Duke at John Paul Jones Arena, Virginia wrestling was back on the road when it traveled Friday to face North Carolina. The Cavaliers (5-5, 1-4 ACC) got big performances from junior Nick Hamilton and senior Rocco Contino, but the team lost too many close battles to mount a true comeback, falling 26-10.
From the jump, it was clear the dual would be incredibly competitive. It started at 149 lbs, where Virginia senior Erik Roggie took on junior Lachlan McNeil. McNeil is the fifth ranked wrestler in the class, and it showed. While Roggie was able to snag a few points, McNeil got the best of him in a 5-3 decision.
Virginia received some bad luck in the next match when junior Nick Sanko was forced to withdraw due to an injury sustained during his battle with junior Sonny Santiago. Instead of a potential win from Sanko, who was leading 1-0, his default put the Tar Heels (8-5, 4-1 ACC) up 9-0 and put the Cavaliers in a pit.
With their backs against the wall early, Virginia responded well. Hamilton was up next against graduate student Charlie Darracott, and he fought hard. The match went back and forth, but in the end Hamilton secured a 4-1 decision win to put the Cavaliers on the board. But Virginia was not done yet. Contino, returning from an injury, fought at 174 lbs against redshirt freshman Nicholas Fea. Contino came out firing strong, getting takedowns left and right. In the end, Contino was able to secure a 19-9 major decision win to cut the deficit to just two points.
“I thought we had a lot of really good, hard-fought matches tonight,” Coach Steve Garland said. “Rocco Contino, Nick Hamilton and Dylan Cedeno all won gritty.”
At 184 lbs, junior Griffin Gammell went down early when senior Gavin Kane snagged a quick takedown just three seconds into the match. The rest of the first period saw much of the same, as Kane got multiple takedowns while Gammell merely scored from escapes. By the start of the second period, Kane was winning 15-4. By the end of the second period the lead was up to 19-5. As the dominance poured on, it was clear Kane was due to score bonus points. By the end, it was a win by tech fall to make the lead 14-7.
The 197-lbs match saw sophomore Steven Burrell Jr. take on junior Cade Lautt. Burrell secured an early takedown in the first period to get on the board, but Lautt responded with an escape point. Burrell got a second takedown in the first period to extend his lead to 6-1, but Lautt again responded with an escape to make it 6-2 by the end of the first period. The second period was dominance from Lautt, who accumulated a ton of riding time despite not scoring points.
Lautt continued to wrestle well in the third period, tying the match up with four quick points. Burrell secured an escape point, but Lautt responded with a riding time point. With just 12 seconds left, Lautt got a takedown to earn the win, boosting the North Carolina lead to 17-7.
After this deflating loss, it was up to senior Gabe Christenson to cut into the lead. However, his opponent, redshirt freshman Nolan Neves, would not budge. The first period was slow, and nobody could score. Neves struck first in the second period with an escape point, but that was the only point scored in the period. With just two minutes of play left, it was clear Christenson needed to make a move. He escaped early in the third period to tie it up with one minute to go. But Neves secured a takedown with 31 seconds left to take a 4-1 lead. Christenson got one more point, but it was not enough to stop another Tar Heel win.
At 125 lbs, it was do or die time for the Cavaliers. In this critical matchup, junior Keyveon Roller was up against junior Spencer Moore in a ranked matchup. Virginia needed to win all three remaining matchups with bonus points to stay alive in the dual. Roller played good defense early, and was able to keep the match scoreless in the first period. Moore opened the scoring with an escape just seconds into the second period, and from there the floodgates were open. Moore almost immediately scored a takedown and then kept riding to inch closer toward more points. Roller got aggressive in the third period, but it was to no avail. North Carolina clinched the dual, and went up 23-7.
Sophomore Gable Porter was up next for the Cavaliers to try to close the gap. However, junior Ethan Oakley provided very strong resistance. Like other matches, the first period was very quiet. Oakley scored first via an escape in the second period, but Porter lurched ahead on riding time. Porter matched Oakley with an escape, but Oakley responded right back with a takedown for the lead. Porter tried to mount a comeback, but it was futile as Oakley won 4-2 and extended the Tar Heel lead to 26-7.
In the final match of the dual, fifth-year Dylan Cedeno took on sophomore Jayden Scott. Despite being the underdog in the match, Scott got off to a hot start with a takedown after Cedeno earned an escape. Cedeno scored a takedown right as the first period ended to go up 4-3. Scott fought hard to retake the lead in the second period, slamming Cedeno into the mat multiple times. However, Cedeno avoided conceding points, earning an escape to extend his lead. Cedeno held his lead well in the third period, winning a 5-3 decision. This ended the dual at 26-10 in favor of North Carolina.
With this loss, Virginia remains in second-to-last in the ACC standings. While this technically was their best performance against any of the five nationally ranked ACC teams, it was still far from a victory. The close losses piled up, and the medical forfeit served as the nail in the coffin. This team will have to look better moving forward if it is to secure another ACC victory.
“We let some other matches get away,” Garland said. “We had a chance to win three other bouts which would have given us a chance to win and we didn’t slam the door shut. We have to win those close ones.”
The Cavaliers will come home on a quick turnaround, as they take on American Sunday, at North Grounds Recreation Center at 1 p.m.
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