#15 Hokies pin #22 ‘Hoos at JPJ
The No. 22 Virginia wrestling team went down to the wire with No. 15 Virginia Tech Sunday before falling 18-13 to the Hokies in front of a raucous crowd of 1,652 at John Paul Jones Arena. Nine of the 10 bouts came down to decisions in the tightly contested match. The teams combined for just two sets of back points all day.
UVa (2-1) won at four weight classes, with No. 14 Jon Fausey (R-So., Dalmatia, Pa.) scoring an 11-3 major decision over John Dickson at 184 pounds. It marked the lone bonus scored on either side Sunday. No. 9 Matt Snyder (R-Jr., Lewistown, Pa.), No. 18 Nick Nelson (R-Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Shawn Harris (R-Sr., Cleveland, Ohio) scored wins by decision at 125, 141 and 149 pounds, respectively.
“I told our guys that ‘I’m so proud of you. I’m so proud of your effort and I’m so blessed to be in your corner,’” UVa head coach Steve Garland said. “That final match with Ethan Hayes, I was so thankful just to be there and have a front-row seat for it. What an amazing atmosphere for the sport of wrestling. But as proud as I am of our guys, we didn’t accomplish our goal, which was to get the win. We were close and were right in a spot where we thought we could do it, but we lost.”
With UVa holding a 13-12 team lead with one weight class remaining, the match came down to a fantastic bout at heavyweight, where Virginia Tech’s Chris Penny scored a takedown in sudden-victory time to down UVa’s Ethan Hayes (Fr., New Lebanon, Ohio), 7-5. The bout featured a wild third period that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
With the score knotted at 2-all heading to the third, Penny chose the down position. After riding Penny for 11 seconds, Hayes put Penny on his back and scored two points on a nearfall. Penny quickly escaped and the wrestlers went back and forth without scoring for a minute and a half before Penny finally connected at the edge of the mat for a takedown with just seven seconds left. After a restart Hayes was able to kick out and escape just before the final horn to send the match to overtime. Both wrestlers had chances in the sudden victory period, but Penny landed the deciding takedown with 21 seconds remaining to seal the individual and team victories.
UVa jumped out to an early 9-3 lead after winning three of the first four matches. At 125, Snyder fell behind early against Ty Mitch but rallied to send the match to overtime, where he won in the first tiebreaker, 9-8. Snyder trailed 6-4 heading to the third period, but picked up a point in the third when Mitch was called for a pair of stalling warnings while in the bottom position. Snyder rode Mitch for the entire third period to reverse a 1:00 riding time deficit and turn it into a 1:00 riding time advantage to score the riding time point to send it to overtime.
After a scoreless sudden victory period, the two went to a tiebreaker, where Snyder escaped with 10 seconds left in the first period. In the second 30-second period, Mitch allowed Snyder to escape, but then quickly took him down to knot the score. Snyder again escaped, then held off Mitch to win, 9-8.
The Hokies (2-1) knotted the team score at 133 as No. 7-ranked Devin Carter methodically pulled away for an 11-5 decision over UVa’s Matt Nelson. Carter scored a quick first-period takedown and never trailed as he slowly pulled away for the victory.
Nick Nelson trailed 4-2 in the second period to Tech’s Zach Neibert at 141, but reversed Neibert late in the period and moved ahead with a second left in the period on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty point. Nelson escaped quickly to start the third, then controlled the match the rest of the way.
Harris and Chris Mears were locked in a tight bout throughout at 149. Harris scored a takedown 1:49 into the first period and never trailed. He moved ahead 4-1 with an escape to start the third, but Mears took him down to close to within 4-3. Hayes soon escaped to score a point and then held on for the 5-3 win.
At 157 pounds No. 5-ranked Jesse Dong gave up an early takedown to Jedd Moore (R-Jr., Mount Vernon, Ohio) but came back to post an 8-2 win. Dong scored a takedown near the edge with 41 seconds left in the first period and led the rest of the match. He scored a takedown late in the third period to put the match out of reach.
No. 14-ranked Pete Yates outlasted UVa’s Nick Sulzer (R-Fr., Cleveland, Ohio), 6-2, at 165. Yates scored a takedown just over a minute into the first period, then built up 1:28 in riding time in the period and pushed it to over two minutes in the third. With the match tied at two in the third, Yates quickly escaped to start the period, then countered a late Sulzer shot with a takedown to clinch the win and tie the team score at nine apiece.
Chris Moon gave the Hokies a 12-9 team lead with a 5-1 decision over Billy Coggins (So., Sound Beach, N.Y.) at 174 pounds. Moon defended a great Coggins shot early in the period to keep the match scoreless, then recorded a takedown at the edge of the mat with 45 seconds remaining in the first to take the lead. The two combined for a scoreless second period, but Moon escaped early in the third and added a takedown with just over a minute left to earn the win.
Fausey aggressively pounced on Dickson with a takedown in the first five seconds of their match at 184, and soon got Dickson on his back for three points on a near fall. Fausey cruised from there and scored a pair of third-period takedowns while racking up 3:01 in riding time to earn the major decision.
At 197 pounds 16th-ranked Nick Vetterlein of Virginia Tech held off UVa’s Ryan Malo (Sr., Mass.) for a 5-3 decision, giving the Hokies the 15-13 team lead. Vetterlein threw Malo in scoring a first-period takedown and then built up a 5-3 lead after an escape midway through the third, then fended off Malo’s shot attempts in the waning seconds to secure the win.
Virginia wrestles at the Penn State Open next Saturday (Dec. 4). The Cavaliers return to dual action Dec. 18 at Drexel.
No. 15 Virginia Tech 18, No. 22 Virginia 13
125: No. 9 Matt Snyder (Virginia) dec. Ty Mitch (Virginia Tech), 9-8 (TB1)
133: No. 7 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) dec. Matt Nelson (Virginia), 11-5
141: No. 18 Nick Nelson (Virginia) dec. Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech), 10-5
149: Shawn Harris (Virginia) dec. Chris Mears (Virginia Tech), 5-3
157: No. 5 Jesse Dong (Virginia Tech) dec. Jedd Moore (Virginia), 8-2
165: No. 14 Pete Yates (Virginia Tech) dec. Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 6-2
174: Chris Moon (Virginia Tech) dec. Billy Coggins (Virginia), 5-1
184: No. 14 Jon Fausey (Virginia) major dec. John Dickson (Virginia Tech), 11-3
197: No. 16 Nick Vetterlein (Virginia Tech) dec. Ryan Malo (Virginia), 5-3
285: Chris Penny (Virginia Tech) dec. Ethan Hayes (Virginia), 7-5 (SV)
Team Dual Records: Virginia Tech 2-1, Virginia 2-1
Virginia shocks FSU, 14-13
In a word, Improbable.
Dustin Hopkins missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt with three seconds left, and Virginia held on by the slimmest of margins for a 14-13 win over #25 Florida State Saturday night in Tallahassee.
The win propels the Cavs into a de facto ACC Coastal Division championship game against in-state rival Virginia Tech next Saturday in Charlottesville.
Virginia (8-3, 5-2 ACC) took the lead with 1:16 to go on a 10-yard Kevin Parks touchdown run that capped a five-play, 75-yard, 37-second drive.
The ‘Hoos seemed to stop FSU (7-4, 5-3 ACC) on a fourth-and-one with 31 seconds left, but defensive end Cam Johnson was called for a 15-yard facemask penalty on his sack of ‘Noles quarterback EJ Manuel, giving Florida State a first down at the Virginia 35.
UVa. then got a second apparent stop on the final drive when Bert Reed caught a sideline pass from Manuel and was tackled in bounds. FSU had no timeouts and could not get Hopkins on the field in position for the game-winning field goal before time expired.
The call on the field was reversed on instant replay, and it was ruled that Reed had not caught the pass, giving the Seminoles a chance for the kick on fourth down. A UVa. offsides penalty moved Hopkins five yards closer, but the kicker, who had been 5-for-5 on the year on kicks of 40 yards or longer, missed the kick wide left.
Virginia had jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on a 7-yard scoring pass from Michael Rocco to Perry Jones. Manuel connected with Ja’Baris Little on a 1-yard scoring strike in the second quarter to tie the game at 7, and a 26-yard Hopkins field goal sent Florida State to the halftime break with a 10-7 lead.
Hopkins added a 21-yard field goal at the 7:55 mark of the third quarter to extend the FSU lead to 13-7.
Rocco was 4-for-4 for 65 yards on the game-winning drive, with a 34-yard pass to Tim Smith and a 16-yard pass to Jones the key plays of that drive before the Parks TD run.
Rocco finished the game 22-for-31 passing for 238 yards and the one TD pass.
#1 UVa. rolls past Tech
Tyler Wilson (Sr., Midlothian, Va.) pitched seven shutout innings and David Coleman (Sr., Richmond, Va.) homered and drove in five runs as the top-ranked Virginia baseball team defeated Virginia Tech, 9-3, Saturday afternoon at English Field in Blacksburg. Virginia (27-2, 10-1 ACC) now has won eight straight games and also has clinched its fourth straight ACC series this year.
Wilson (4-0) pitched seven innings, giving up five hits and two walks (one intentional). He struck out 10, marking his second straight double-figure strikeout performance and the third of his career. Wilson did a great job of working out of jams, as Tech went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position against him. Read more
#1 'Hoos dominate Virginia Tech in Game 1
The top-ranked Virginia baseball team scored 17 runs over a four-inning span to bounce back from an early deficit and trounce Virginia Tech, 18-3, Friday night at a frigid English Field in Blacksburg. The Cavaliers (26-2, 9-1 ACC) banged out 16 hits in their largest offensive output of the season and used strong pitching from Danny Hultzen (Jr., Bethesda, Md.) and Whit Mayberry (So., Alexandria, Va.) to cruise to their seventh straight win.
Virginia’s offense was the story of the night. The Cavaliers made six full trips through the batting order and every Virginia starter reached base at least twice. Steven Proscia (Jr., Suffern, N.Y.) went 3-for-5 and tied a career high with five RBI. Jared King (Jr., Radford, Va.) went 3-for-4 with a career-high four RBI. Reed Gragnani (So., Richmond, Va.) scored three times and drove in three runs. Read more
The AFP on WREL: Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010
Chris Graham joins WREL’s “Online with Jim Bresnahan” to talk sports.
The focus is on the annual rivalry game between Virginia Tech and Virginia. The Hokies are once again prohibitive favorites. Is there any hope for ‘Hoos fans out there for an upset? Chris doesn’t think so.
A wrap of the I-AA seasons for Liberty and JMU, a scan around the local teams still in the high-school football playoffs and a quick discussion of the recent struggles being endured by the UVa. basketball team take us to the finish line.
Press Conference: Mike London
Virginia football coach Mike London talks with the news media on Monday. Virginia (4-7, 1-6 ACC) travels to Virginia Tech (9-2, 7-0 ACC) on Saturday.
QUESTION: What is the game plan as far as Tyrod Taylor?
LONDON: I tell you what, you’ve seen a lot of people try to game plan him certain ways, but he’s such a phenomenal athlete that you’ve got to worry about doing some other things, but also being very conscious of where he is.
I remember when I was recruiting him, and knowing the family and what a great young man he is. It’s just really neat to see the way he’s blossomed into being a great person and a great player. But there’s no way you say you can defend him like this, like that, because he has all the tools, the arms, the legs to get out of it. He’s become a really good quarterback in terms of the passing game.
He’s an athletic guy that makes things happen for him. We’ve got enough to worry about with not just him, but the running backs and wide receivers. They have a host of players that are the reason why they’ve had success – it is not only because of Tyrod – but some of the other guys on the team as well.
Press Conference: Mike London
Virginia football coach Mike London talks with the news media on Monday. Virginia (4-7, 1-6 ACC) travels to Virginia Tech (9-2, 7-0 ACC) on Saturday.
QUESTION: What is the game plan as far as Tyrod Taylor?
LONDON: I tell you what, you’ve seen a lot of people try to game plan him certain ways, but he’s such a phenomenal athlete that you’ve got to worry about doing some other things, but also being very conscious of where he is.
I remember when I was recruiting him, and knowing the family and what a great young man he is. It’s just really neat to see the way he’s blossomed into being a great person and a great player. But there’s no way you say you can defend him like this, like that, because he has all the tools, the arms, the legs to get out of it. He’s become a really good quarterback in terms of the passing game.
He’s an athletic guy that makes things happen for him. We’ve got enough to worry about with not just him, but the running backs and wide receivers. They have a host of players that are the reason why they’ve had success – it is not only because of Tyrod – but some of the other guys on the team as well. Read more
