After losing its first three ACC matchups of the season, Virginia wrestling got back on the right track Friday night by defeating Duke 39-0. The Cavaliers (5-4, 1-3 ACC) relied on incredible performances from junior Keyveon Roller and senior Gabe Christenson to take down the Blue Devils (4-13, 0-5 ACC) under the bright lights of John Paul Jones Arena. With 1,152 fans in attendance, Coach Steve Garland’s squad put on a show.
With the match in such a large venue for the first time this season, it was no surprise the energy was at a high and might have played a part in Virginia’s victory. The Cavaliers got out to a hot start and never looked back.
Roller got the ball rolling against Duke junior Ethan Grimminger with a takedown just 27 seconds into the match. Grimminger earned a point via an escape to narrow the lead, but Roller responded quickly with two takedowns to grab a 9-2 lead after one period. Momentum continued in Roller’s favor with three more takedowns in the second period, giving him a 19-4 win by technical fall and Virginia a 5-0 lead.
Sophomore Gable Porter kept the momentum going against Blue Devil sophomore Raymond Adams. Porter opened the scoring with an escape early in the second period, the only point until the third period. With the match coming down to the wire, Adams equalized with an escape point of his own, but it was no use. Porter secured a win by decision, extending the lead to 8-0.
With his team holding a solid lead, fifth-year Dylan Cedeno looked to continue the Cavalier dominance against Duke senior Christian Colman. Cedeno scored a takedown 29 seconds into the match and held a tight grip on his lead. Colman earned two escape points, although Cedeno immediately responded with two takedowns to make the score 9-2 at the end of the first period. Cedeno had another solid second period in which he outscored Colman 4-1 and then closed it by winning 17-5, giving him the major decision victory and making the score 12-0.
Senior Erik Roggie was up next to defend the lead against redshirt freshman SP O’Donnell. Roggie took the lead late in the first period with a takedown and then got a near fall to go up seven points over O’Donnell. Facing little resistance, Roggie held the lead for the rest of the match, winning 12-0 and giving Virginia another major decision victory.
Junior Nick Sanko kept the good times rolling against senior Logan Ferrero. Sanko immediately dominated, scoring five points in the first minute of the match via a takedown and a near fall. He scored four more points in the second period after getting a takedown and an escape. With a nine-point lead coming into the final period, all he had to do was cruise to his victory. Neither side scored in the final period, giving the Cavaliers their third major decision victory of the night and a 20-point lead.
With the dual almost surely in hand just halfway through, junior Nick Hamilton took on redshirt freshman Aidan Wallace. Hamilton struck first with a takedown. Wallace got a point back through an escape, but Hamilton matched with an escape early in the second period. Wallace again closed the lead to two with an escape point in the third period, but Hamilton got one final takedown with a minute remaining to ice the match and earn an 8-3 victory.
With Virginia needing just one more victory to seal the dual, junior Mason Stefanelli took the mat against sophomore Gaetano Console. Yet again, the Cavaliers scored first on a Stefanelli escape. However, Console equalized early in the second period. A successful challenge by Garland gave Stefanelli a three-point takedown and the lead late in the second period. Stefanelli extended the lead with an escape point in the third period, and he won 5-3 after two Console escape points cut into the lead.
Despite Virginia having mathematically won the dual, junior Griffin Gammell decided that the job was not finished when he took on sophomore David Hussey. Gammell started off on the right foot with a takedown just one minute into the match and then earned an escape point early in the second period. Hussey earned an escape point early into the third, putting the match within striking distance for the Blue Devils. But a Gammell takedown just seconds later sealed another Virginia victory, this time by a score of 8-2.
With Virginia up 29-0 with just two matches left, sophomore Stephen Burrell Jr. took to the mat against sophomore Kwasi Bonsu. Burrell worked lightning fast, scoring a takedown within the first 15 seconds. Bonsu got an escape point to lessen the blow, but Burrell got two more takedowns in the first period to take a commanding 9-2 lead. Bonsu was able to win the second period 2-0, cutting the lead to five. The momentum continued to swing in Bonsu’s direction in the third period, as he earned a takedown to cut the lead even more. However, it was futile as Burrell dug deep in the last 30 seconds to earn a final takedown and win the match 15-7.
Christenson closed out the dual for the Cavaliers by taking on junior Tyler O’Boyle. He ended things in legendary fashion. After stalling for the first minute with his opponent, he quickly turned the tide and pinned O’Boyle out of nowhere. That put the final score at 39-0. Christenson was overjoyed to get a victory after missing much of the past two seasons with injury.
“I’ve dreamed about being able to wrestle in JPJ after sitting on the sidelines the past couple years,” Christenson said. “To be able to do that is nothing short of a blessing.”
In attendance to see Virginia’s dominance were the 2010 and 2015 ACC Championship-winning teams. They are the only two teams that have won the conference during Garland’s tenure, and their presence must have sparked something within the Cavaliers.
Many of the things that helped Virginia secure a victory were things Garland has been preaching throughout the past few weeks. Stepping on the gas early and often while also finding ways to secure bonus points won the day for the Cavaliers, and continuing these practices will be paramount if Virginia is to win more games in the talented ACC.
“In the ACC, those duals, there’s always so many good kids,” Garland said. “If you don’t get bonus points, you’re probably not going to win.”
Virginia will be back in action in a week when it travels down to Chapel Hill, N.C., to face off with North Carolin at 7 p.m. Friday.
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