Nov. 18, 2007

Virginia Sweeps Purdue, MSU at ACC/Big Ten Clash

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia wrestling team posted two historic wins Saturday, knocking off Purdue (16-15) and Michigan State (29-10) at the ACC/Big Ten Clash at Eddie Smith Field House in Chapel Hill, N.C. The wins mark the Cavaliers' first-ever over a Big Ten wrestling program.

"It was a big day for our program," Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. "I told our guys afterwards that they did something special. It's amazing how young we are to do something like that. I've been involved with Virginia wrestling for several years - first as a player then as a coach - and I've never seen a string of dual meets like we had today. For years we've heard that we are an up-and-coming program, but today we showed that we're here."

Virginia (5-0) opened the day with a narrow 16-15 victory over the Boilermakers. The match went back-and-forth and was ultimately decided on a major-decision win by 11th-ranked Eric Albright (Jr., York, Pa.) over Matt Hemry (9-1). The other nine matches were decided by decisions. Each team won five matches total.

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Tar Heels Split Matches in ACC/Big Ten Clash

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina got back-to-back pins from sophomore Dan Goeter at 197 pounds and junior Justin Dobies at heavyweight to rally for a 22-16 victory over Purdue in the ACC/Big Ten Clash Saturday at Eddie Smith Field House. The Tar Heels (1-1) lost to Michigan State, 21-15, in their first dual.

In addition to Carolina's split, Virginia topped both the Boilermakers and Spartans to give each conference three dual wins on the day. NC State went 0-2 in the second annual event.

Dobies was one of four Tar Heels to post a pair of victories on the day, including his match-deciding pin versus Purdue. Redshirt freshmen Nick Stabile (141) and Thomas Scotton (157) and junior Keegan Mueller (165) were also unbeaten on the afternoon.

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Three Hokies Win Titles at East Stroudsburg Open

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - The Virginia Tech wrestling team wrapped up competition Saturday night at the East Stroudsburg Open with three Hokies winning their respective weight classes, and three others placing in the top three.

Matt Epperly (165 pounds), Tommy Spellman (184 pounds) and Cody Gardner (285 pounds) each picked up wins in their respective weight classes, while Anthony Trongone (165 pounds) and David Marone (285 pounds) took second in theirs, and Matt Ryan placed third at 184 pounds, wrestling unattached.

At 165 pounds, Epperly downed Alex Enriquez of Princeton, 4-3, before defeating Phil Santee of Millersville, 14-2. Epperly proceeded to beat Harvard's Matthew Button, before taking down his teammate Trongone, 3-2, for the title. Epperly is now 5-0 on the year.

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Maryland Finishes Third At Body Bar Systems Invitational

ITHACA, N.Y. - Freshman Eric Medina and redshirt junior Josh Haines took home individual titles at 149 and 184 pounds, respectively, as the Maryland wrestling team finished third at the Body Bar Systems Invitational hosted by Cornell on November 17. Redshirt sophomore Hudson Taylor placed second at 197 pounds.

The Terrapins finished the tournament with 113.5 points. No. 8 Cornell won with 139 points while No. 11 Wisconsin placed second with 130.5 points.

Medina and Haines both went through their respective fields with a perfect 4-0 record. Medina won all of his matches by decision while Haines earned a 15-0 technical fall and a pair of pins, including one in the championship match.

Taylor dominated his competition in the first three rounds with a pair of falls and a major decision to reach the finals where he faced No. 8 Dallas Herbst of Wisconsin. Herbst narrowly beat Taylor out for the title with a 4-3 decision.

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Wolfpack Drops Two At ACC/Big Ten Clash

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Over the years, the Big Ten has been one of college wrestling's blueblood conferences. Purdue and Michigan State stated the Big Ten's case against NC State on Saturday, each defeating the Wolfpack in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge at Chapel Hill's Eddie Smith field House. In the Wolfpack's first bout of the afternoon, 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell and heavyweight Bobby Isola pinned their opponents, and Taylor Cummings picked up a decision at 125 pounds, but Purdue won the other seven matches and won easily.

Cummings got the match off to a great start with a hard-fought 6-5 decision over Akif Eren, and after Ryan Tice fell 7-3 to Mat Hemry, Caldwell gave the Wolfpack a 9-3 lead with a breathtakingly quick pin of Purdue's Jake Patacsil, the nation's eighth-ranked 149-pounder.

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NC State Falls At Oklahoma, 30-9
(Wednesday, November 15)

NORMAN, Okla. - Twelfth-ranked Will Rowe stopped the bleeding for No. 21 Oklahoma suddenly and decisively by pinning NC State's Darrion Caldwell at 149 pounds and sparking the Sooners to a 30-9 victory over the Wolfpack in college wrestling Thursday night in Norman, Okla. The match was the first dual match of the season for both teams.

NC State won the first three matches of the evening, including a 5-0 decision by Joe Caramanica over No. 16 Zach Bailey at 141 pounds, to take a 9-0 lead and stun the partisan crowd at Howard McCasland Fieldhouse. The Wolfpack appeared to be on its way to a rout of the Sooners when Caldwell jumped to a 6-1 lead over Rowe at 149. Rowe got a late takedown, however, then took advantage of a mental lapse by Caldwell to cut the NC State lead to a more manageable 9-6.

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