Nov. 26, 2007

Hokies rally to down Drexel, 21-17

PHILADELPHIA - The Virginia Tech wrestling team rallied from eight points down to win four of the final five matches and beat Drexel, 21-17, Sunday afternoon at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in the first of two matches on the day for the Hokies.

The match started at 133 pounds, where Drexel's William Martin picked up four team points with a 15-7 major decision over Nick Murray. The Hokies got on the board at 141 pounds when freshman Chris Diaz picked up his first collegiate dual victory, a 5-3 win over Morgan Remillard. After a scoreless first period, Diaz got a two-point nearfall and then got a takedown late in the period to lead 4-1. Remillard got a takedown late, but Diaz had riding time to pick up the 5-3 win.

At 149 pounds, Matt Rosen used a pair of near-fall combinations near the end of the second period to open up a 10-5 lead over Kyle Bub. He started the period with a reversal and gave up a reversal late, but held on for the 13-7 win to give Tech a 6-4 lead. The lead was short-lived as eighth-ranked Ryan Hluschak dominated Tech's Mark Czarny, winning 19-9 to make it 8-6. Czarny helped the team out though, picking up a takedown late to avoid getting the technical fall and saved the team a point.

Virginia Tech falls at #23 Penn, 26-5

PHILADELPHIA - The Virginia Tech wrestling squad concluded its busy Sunday with a 26-5 loss to No. 23 Drexel at The Palestra, just hours after downing Drexel 21-17. Tech is now 2-1 on the young season.

Like the first match of the day, action began at 133 pounds, where Penn's Richard Rappo picked up a 13-7 decision over Tech freshman Nick Murray. Murray led 5-3 heading into the second period after a takedown and three nearfall points, but Rappo slowly worked back to take the lead and eventually took the six-point win.

At 141 pounds, Chris Diaz put up quite a fight before succumbing to Zack Kemmerer, 4-3. The freshman took a 3-1 lead with 1:20 to go, but Kemmerer escaped got the match-winning takedown with nine seconds to go. At 149 pounds, 19th-ranked Cesar Grajales used a first-period takedown and rode Matt Rosen for the entire third period to take the 4-1 win.