Feb. 8, 2009

Hokies take down Maryland to move to 3-0 in ACC
In front of a school-record crowd of 1,763 fans, the 13th-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling squad overcame the flu and won key matches with bonus points to down defending ACC champion Maryland 22-15 on Sunday night at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. With the win, the Hokies move to 18-1 on the season and 3-0 in the ACC, while the Terrapins dropped to 7-8-1 and 2-2 in the conference.

Freshman Jarrod Garnett, ranked 14th at 125 pounds, started the duel strong for Tech taking a 10-5 decision from Brendan Byrne of Maryland. Freshman Brock LiVorio, at 133 pounds and sophomore Chris Diaz, at 141 pounds, fell to 11th-ranked Steven Bell and 11th-ranked Alex Krom of Maryland, respectively, by major decision, as the Terrapins took the team lead 8-3.

The Hokies battled back though, behind freshman Pete Yates, ranked 20th at 149 pounds, who dominated the Terrapins' Dex Lederer. Yates scored seven take downs in the second period, the last coming at the 4:44 mark of the match, to earn a technical fall over Lederer, who suffered an ankle injury in the first period.

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NC State Drops 30-12 Decision to Ohio
NC State had several hard-fought rounds in Sunday's match with Ohio University, but starting and ending the day with forfeits put the Wolfpack at a severe disadvantage, ultimately leading to a 30-12 Ohio victory at Reynolds Coliseum.

In the first scheduled match, NC State forfeited the 125-pound class to pit Ohio University to an early 6-0 lead.

After a scoreless first period in the afternoon's opening 133-pound match, Ohio University's Quinton Keyes got on the scoreboard in the second period with an escape and a near fall to take a 3-0 lead over Darrius Little. The scoring opened up in the final period with an early Keyes reversal, only to see Little stage a comeback with a pair of takedowns and an escape. Keyes managed to finish off the matchup with two late escapes to win 8-5.

No. 18 ODU Tops Virginia Wrestling in 21-18 Thriller
The Virginia wrestling team went down to the wire with No. 18 Old Dominion before succumbing late in a 21-18 loss to the Monarchs Sunday at the Ted Konstant Convocation Center in Norfolk. The match was tied at 18 heading into the final bout, where No. 11 Chris Brown of ODU scored a takedown in sudden victory time to defeat the Cavaliers' Mike Sewell (Sr., Bothell, Wash.), 6-4, at 165 pounds.

Virginia (9-10) started strong by winning each of the first three weight classes. Chris Henrich (So., Lansdale, Pa.) improved to 31-1 this year with a 5-4 decision over ODU's Eric Decker at 174 pounds. Rocco Caponi (Sr., Uniontown, Ohio) then pinned the Monarchs' Joe Budi 55 seconds into the second period to push the UVa lead to 9-0. The fall was the 23rd in Caponi's career as he moved into a sixth-place tie with Tim Foley (1999-2004) on the all-time Virginia falls ledger.

In a battle of ranked wrestlers at 197 pounds, No. 19 Brent Jones (Jr., Burke, Va.) scored the winning takedown with just under 20 seconds remaining in the final period to nab a 6-5 decision over No. 15 Jesse Strawn. Jones, who also upset No. 8 Cayle Byers of George Mason last week, improved to 24-5 this year as he won for the 11th time in his last 12 matches.

Feb. 7, 2009

Carolina Outlasts Ohio, 26-12
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Senior Keegan Mueller recorded his fourth pin of the season, and junior Dennis Drury and freshman Nick Shields each picked up major decisions to pace North Carolina to a 26-12 win over Ohio Saturday at Eddie Smith Field House. The Tar Heels improved to 12-7 with their eighth win in the last nine duals. The Bobcats dropped to 7-6-1 with the loss.

With the match starting at 149 pounds, Carolina sent a nationally-ranked wrestler to the mat in each of its first three bouts to jump out to a 12-0 lead. No. 15 Nick Stabile opened things with a 5-0 decision over Kevin Christensen at 149 for his second win of the weekend and a 23-8 record. Stabile outscored his two opponents by a combined 22-1 margin for the weekend.

No. 19 Thomas Scotton bounced back from a close loss Friday against NC State with a 3-2 victory over the Bobcats' Clay Tucker at 157. Scotton scored a first-period takedown and escaped in the third to move to 19-10 on the year.

Asper, Kohler Finish First at Edinboro Open

University of Maryland wrestlers Josh Asper and Jon Kohler both finished in first place Saturday at the Edinboro Open in Edinboro, Pa., while Will Sharbaugh earned runner-up status.

Asper, a freshman at 165 pounds, continued his recent dominance, winning all five matches to push his overall winning streak to 17. Asper has not lost a match since Dec. 29, 2008 at the Midlands Championships and has now placed first in four consecutive open tournaments.

Feb. 6, 2009

Tar Heels Topple Wolfpack, 33-12
Freshman Nick Shields and junior Dennis Drury each recorded pins to lead North Carolina to a 33-12 win over NC State in its Atlantic Coast Conference finale Friday at Eddie Smith Field House. The Tar Heels (11-7, 4-1 ACC) also picked up a technical from Nick Stabile and a major decision from Thomas Ferguson en route to their seventh win in the last eight duals.

Carolina jumped out to an 18-6 lead after six bouts, but a pin by the Wolfpack (4-10-1, 0-3 ACC) at 174 cut the lead to just six points with three bouts remaining. The Tar Heels closed with a decision by Daniel Llamas at 184, Drury's pin at 197 and a forfeit at heavyweight for the 19-point victory.

In the first match of the night, Shields continued his strong wrestling of late with his first career pin against Greyson Mills at 125. The Louisiana native rallied from an early 4-1 deficit to grab a 6-4 lead before putting Mills on his back at the 2:47 mark for six points for the Tar Heels. Shields improved to 7-15 this season and 3-2 in ACC action.

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