"I'm very proud of our guys," Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. "The victory tonight was the fruit of their hard work. We really wrestled well for the most part. Joe Spisak, Jedd Moore and Nick Sulzer all got bonus points, and that was the match. We're happy to get a win over a really tough team."
The teams split the 10 duals, but UVa's three bonus-point wins proved to be the difference. After UVa won the first four matches to take an 18-0 lead, the Terrapins (10-7, 1-2) captured five of the final six, including a pair of crazy wins to wrap up the dual and close to 21-19.
Joe Spisak (R-So., Boiling Springs, Pa.), No. 15 Jedd Moore (R-Sr., Mount Vernon, Ohio) and No. 7 Nick Sulzer (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio) all scored bonus points at 141, 157 and 165 pounds, respectively. No. 20 Derek Valenti (R-Sr., Newton, N.J.) and Derek Papagianopoulos (R-So., Burlington, Mass.) won by decision at 149 and heavyweight for the Cavaliers.
The match began at 141 pounds, where Spisak wasted no time in putting Shane Arechiga on his back before finishing off the fall just 1:27 into the first period. In improving to 18-2 this year, Spisak gave UVa wave of momentum and a 6-0 team lead.
Valenti dominated in the third period in winning 7-0 over Lou Mascola at 149. After starting on top with a 1-0 lead in the third, Valenti knocked Mascola to his stomach, then eventually tilted him to gain a two-point near fall. After injury time, Valenti took the down position and escaped to push the lead to 4-0. He added a last-second takedown and the riding-time point for the 7-0 win.
Moore wore Brady Massaro down in earning a 13-2 major decision at 157 in earning his team-leading 26th win of the year. The first period was scoreless for most of the way until Massaro went in for a late shot and Moore spun around to gain the takedown. He quickly then put Massaro on his back and gained a three-point near fall. Moore escaped promptly in the second and took Massaro down with 35 seconds left in the second to push his lead to 8-0. Moore added a pair of takedowns and the riding time point in the final period for the 13-2 win.
Sulzer overpowered Ty Snook in the 165-pound bout, needing just 4:17 to finish off a 21-4 technical fall. Sulzer recorded four first-period takedowns and three back points as he jumped out to an 11-3 edge. He quickly took Snook down in the second and added a pair of takedowns as well as three more back points to seal the early tech fall.
In one of the marquee matches of the night, fifth-ranked Josh Asper pulled out a 6-2 win over 15th-ranked Jon Fausey at 174. After a scoreless opening period, Asper controlled most of the second stanza. After nearly giving up back points midway through the period, Fausey was able to wiggle free before gaining an escape, although Asper shot right back in to pick up a takedown just before the two went out of bounds. Asper added an escape point as well as another takedown and the riding time point in the third.
At 197 pounds, 15th-ranked Chrisian Boley outlasted Mike Salopek (R-Sr., Huntingdon, Pa.) to win 7-5. With the match tied at five in the third period, Boley recorded the winning takedown as he scored off a Salopek shot and the rode him the rest of the period.
Virginia earned its final win at heavyweight as Papagianopoulos downed Dallas Brown, 5-3. With the bout tied at one in the third, Papagianopoulos scored a takedown 25 seconds into the period to take a 3-1 lead, then maintained control for 30 seconds before Brown escaped. Later in the period Brown went in for a shot, but Papagianopoulos fought it off and scored two of his own to put the match out of reach.
The 125-pound contest was a wild one, as Shane Gentry scored four points in the final 10 seconds to stun eight-ranked Matt Snyder (R-Sr., Lewistown, Pa.), 4-3. Snyder controlled the match most of the way, taking a 2-0 lead and 2:48 of riding time into the third period, but Gentry finished off a takedown with 10 seconds left, then quickly put Snyder on his back and tilted him just before the buzzer sounded to get two back points and the 4-3 win.
The dual ended quickly in the 133-pound bout as No. 16 Geoffrey Alexander of Maryland hit No. 13 George DiCamillo (Fr., Highland Heights, Ohio) with a cement mixer in the opening seconds and finished off a pin just 30 seconds into the bout.
Virginia comes home next weekend for its final two home duals, battling Appalachian State (Feb. 9) and Old Dominion (Feb. 10).
Results:
141: Joe Spisak (UVa) pinned Shane Arechiga (UM), 1:27; UVa 6-0
149: No. 20 Derek Valenti (UVa) dec, Lou Mascola (UM), 7-0; UVa 9-0
157: No. 15 Jedd Moore (UVa) major dec. Brady Massaro (UM), 13-2; UVa 13-0
165: No. 7 Nick Sulzer (UVa) tech fall Josh Snook (UM), 21-4; UVa 18-0
174: No. 5 Josh Asper (UM) dec. No. 16 Jon Fausey (UVa), 6-2; UVa 18-3
184: No. 7 Jimmy Sheptock (UM) major dec. Stephen Doty (UVa), 12-4; UVa 18-7
197: No. 15 Christian Boley (UM) dec. Mike Salopek (UVa), 7-5; UVa 18-10
285: Derek Papagianopoulos (UVa) dec. Dallas Brown (UM), 5-3; UVa 21-10
125: Shane Gentry (UM) dec. No. 8 Matt Snyder (UVa), 4-3; UVa 21-13
133: No. 16 Geoffrey Alexander (UM) pinned No. 13 George DiCamillo (UVa), :30; UVa 21-19
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