After a rough road loss to North Carolina with a ton of close matches that fell the other way, Virginia wrestling returned home for a Sunday match against American. The Cavaliers (6-5, 1-4 ACC) were able to recapture momentum and run away with the dual 30-8.
The story of the dual for Virginia was extra-point wins. Despite going down early to the Eagles (9-9, 1-4 EIWA), the Cavaliers battled back with a series of bonus point victories and eventually ran away with the dual.
The dual started at the 157-lbs weight class, which saw senior Gavin Cagle take on senior Jack Nies. Cagle was the replacement for junior Nick Sanko in this class, as Sanko got hurt in Virginia’s previous dual. Nies was dominant early, getting an easy takedown. Cagle responded with an escape to make it 3-1. However, Nies got another takedown to extend the lead. With a large lead, Nies continued to dominate, forcing Cagle to get risky in an attempt to come back. However, it was to no avail as Nies won by tech fall, 20-4, giving American a 5-0 lead to start the dual.
With Virginia down early, it was up to junior Nick Hamilton to close the gap against freshman Liam Packer. Hamilton got a takedown quickly to snatch the lead. From there, he never let his foot off the gas. Packer got some escapes, but Hamilton poured on the takedowns and had six of them by the end of the first period. After one more takedown in the second period, Hamilton won by tech fall 22-5, evening the dual at 5-5.
With things now tied up, senior Rocco Contino looked to take the lead against sophomore Caleb Campos. Both wrestlers played very defensively to start, and no points were scored in the first period. In the second period, the wrestlers both took several shots but still failed to notch points. Contino finally got on the board with a takedown early in the third period. Campos got an escape, but Contino responded with a second takedown to go up 6-1. From there, Contino rode out the match to seal his victory, putting the Cavaliers up 8-5.
With Virginia leading, it was up to graduate student Justin Phillips to keep the advantage, against senior Lucas White. Phillips got the lead early with a takedown. The pair then traded escapes. However, a takedown from White knotted the match up. Toward the end of the first period, Phillips went back up by two points with some escapes and then got a takedown to go up 9-5. He then rode out a 9-6 victory from there, extending the Cavalier lead.
With Virginia now holding a more comfortable advantage, fifth-year Ethan Weatherspoon took on sophomore Liam Volk-Klos at 197 lbs. Weatherspoon used his physical prowess to overwhelm Volk-Klos, earning a multitude of takedowns and winning by a 17-9 major decision. This extended the lead to 15-5 in favor of Virginia.
In the heavyweight clash, senior Gabe Christenson went up against graduate student Will Jarrell. Being the only ranked wrestler on the Eagle roster, Jarrell was determined to pick up a win. While Christenson put up a solid resistance, takedowns helped Jarrell win 6-2, cutting the Cavalier lead down to single digits.
Back at the lightest class, junior Keyveon Roller sought to end a potential comeback from American when he dueled with freshman JJ Peace. It was an incredibly close battle, with both wrestlers racking up points. However, Roller eked out Peace in the end, winning 12-11.
With Virginia just one more win away from victory, sophomore Gable Porter took to the mat against junior Raymond Lopez. Porter proved why he is one of the best in the country in his class, masterfully outmaneuvering Lopez and winning by an 11-2 major decision. Virginia was now up 22-8 in the dual, granting it the victory with two matches to spare.
Despite having sealed the victory, the job was not finished for the Cavaliers. Fifth year Dylan Cedeno looked intent on making a statement. He got an early jump on sophomore Cael McIntyre and never looked back. Cedeno went on to win by technical fall, bumping the lead up to 19 points. Continuing the trend, senior Erik Roggie grinded out a 10-6 win over redshirt freshman Gage Owen. This ended the dual at 30-8 in favor of Virginia.
Getting a big win like this just before the final stretch is critical for the Cavaliers’ momentum. With just one ACC match left before the postseason, being in peak final form will be huge if Virginia wants to win some ACC hardware and pull off upsets.
The Cavaliers will be back in action Friday night at home against Pittsburgh. This is senior night for Virginia, and the dual starts at 7 p.m. at the Aquatic & Fitness Center.
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