Wrestling: Virginia drops ACC opener to No. 4 NC State

Virginia Wrestling opened ACC competition with a 23-9 loss to #4 N.C. State on Friday at Mem Gym.

The Cavaliers got wins from Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.), Jake Keating (Naperville, Ill.) and Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.).

All three Virginia wrestlers remained undefeated on the season with their victories.

Hayes, the No. 12 ranked wrestler nationally at 133 pounds, claimed a 16-11 decision to get Virginia on the scoreboard. Keating, who is ranked No. 19 at 165 pounds, fought his way to a 4-3 decision over No. 10 Thomas Bullard at 165 pounds.

Aiello, who is the third-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, ground out his match to take a 2-0 decision over Nick Reenan.

With the win, NC State extended its nation-leading win streak in dual matches to 20 consecutive dual wins.

Results

No. 4 NC State 23, Virginia 9

• 125: No. 6 Jakob Camacho (NCSU) major dec. Patrick McCormick, 16-7; NCSU 4, UVA 0
• 133: No. 12 Louie Hayes dec. Ryan Jack (NCSU), 11-6; NCSU 4, UVA 3
• 141: No. 10 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. Brian Courtney, 8-6; NCSU 7, UVA 3
• 149: Ed Scott (NCSU) major dec. Denton Spencer, 14-1; NCSU 11, UVA 3
• 157: No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. No. 16 Justin McCoy, 6-3; NCSU 14, UVA 3
• 165: No. 19 Jake Keating dec. No. 10 Thomas Bullard (NCSU), 4-3; NCSU 14, UVA 6
• 174: No. 12 Daniel Bullard (NCSU) dec. Vic Marcelli, 3-1; NCSU 17, UVA 6
• 184: No. 4 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) dec. Michael Battista, 4-0; NCSU 20, UVA 6
• 197: No. 3 Jay Aiello dec. Nick Reenan (NCSU), 2-0; NCSU 20, UVA 9
• HWT: No. 17 Deonte Wilson (NCSU) dec. No. 19 Quinn Miller, 2-0; NCSU 23, UVA 9

Additional Matches

• 125: Sam Book dec. Anthony Noto (NCSU), 11-5 (TB-1)
• 133: Jarrett Trombley (NCSU) dec. Evan Buchanan, 6-1
• 141: Dylan Cedeno dec. Kai Orine (NCSU), 5-4
• 141: Alex Urquiza (NCSU) dec. Scott Kiyono, 3-1
• 149: Hunter Lewis (NCSU) pinned Ray Costa, 2:47
• 157: Nic Sansone dec. A.J. Kovack (NCSU), 11-7
• 165: Tyler Barnes (NCSU) pinned Justin Phillips, 4:40
• 174: Robby Patrick over Dylan Reinert (NCSU) by injury default
• 184: Alex Faison (NCSU) major dec. Krystian Kinsey, 17-4
• 184: Jacob Ferrera (NCSU) dec. Hudson Stewart, 6-3
• 197: Isaac Trumble (NCSU) pinned Ethan Weatherspoon, 2:52
• HWT: Owen Trephan (NCSU) major dec. Jessie Knight, 16-6

Match Notes

• Louie Hayes remained undefeated on the year, improving to 6-0 on the season at 133 pounds
• Jake Keating improved to 6-0 with his win over 10th-ranked Daniel Bullard at 165 pounds.
• Jay Aiello also remained perfect this season with his 2-0 decision over Nick Reenan, improving to 5-0.
• Aiello has now won his match in 23 consecutive dual matches dating back to the 2019 season. His last loss in a dual was January 12, 2019 to then No. 9 Tom Sleigh (Va. Tech).
• True freshman Dylan Cedeno (Fair Lawn, N.J.)continues to win as he improved to 5-0 with his decision in the additional matches.

Post-meet: UVA coach Steve Garland

“Obviously, give credit to N.C. State. They are a really tough team and ranked really highly for a reason. That dual meet was a lot more competitive than the final score indicated. Most of the bouts were straight up dog fights – even the ones we lost. Our guys fought. Our guys competed. We’re proud of our team, but the difference is NC State was finding a way to bite down and get those wins and that’s what we’ve got to do to take that next step so that we’re getting in there and fighting for those NCAA trophies.”