Ranked ninth nationally by InterMat, Fausey scored the big win of the day for Virginia with a pin of eighth-ranked Grant Gambrell in the second sudden death period (8:29 into match).
Ranked 10th nationally, Valenti topped Brody Grothus, 9-5, at 149 pounds, while Salopek outlasted the Hawkeyes’ Tomas Lira, 8-6, at 197.
The Hawkeyes took an early 3-0 lead when reigning national champion Matt McDonough pulled away in the final period to notch a 9-4 win over fifth-ranked Matt Snyder (R-Sr., Lewistown, Pa.) at 125 pounds. After falling behind early, Snyder pulled into a 4-4 tie with a cradle before McDonough took the lead back for good.
Iowa scored bonus points on major decisions at 133 and 141 to stretch its lead to 11-0. The Cavaliers got on the board with Valenti’s decision before top-ranked Derek St. John of Iowa bested Jedd Moore (R-Sr., Mount Vernon, Ohio), 6-0, at 157.
In another matchup of top-10 wrestlers, fourth-ranked Mike Evans of Iowa picked up a 7-4 decision over eighth-ranked Nick Sulzer (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio), pushing the Hawkeyes’ lead to 17-3. Fausey’s pin cut the lead to 17-9, but eighth-ranked Ethen Lofthouse scored a takedown with just under five seconds remaining to down Stephen Doty (R-Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) at 184.
Following the Salopek win at 197, UVa forfeited at heavyweight for the 26-12 final score.
Virginia started the day by capturing eight of the 10 weight classes in a 38-6 win over Cumberland, the No. 18-ranked team at the NAIA level. The Cavaliers racked up five bonus-point wins, highlighted by falls from Nick Herrmann (Fr., Amarillo, Texas), Valenti, Zach Nye (R-Fr., Enola, Pa.) and Salopek at 125, 149, 184 and 197, respectively. Moore also picked up a technical fall over Shane Brown at 157 pounds, winning 18-1 in just 3:49.
Following the Thanksgiving holiday, UVa returns to action Sunday, Nov. 25, when it opens ACC competition at No. 12 Virginia Tech.
No. 17 Virginia 38, Cumberland 6
125: Nick Herrmann (UVa) pinned Zach Shelton (Cumberland), 1:19 UVa 6-0
133: George DiCamillo (UVa) dec. Jake Williams (Cumberland), 11-4; UVa 9-0
141: Jimmy Nehls (UVa) dec. Jared McKinley (Cumberland), 4-3; UVa 12-0
149: No. 10 Derek Valenti (UVa) pinned Steven Sandefur (Cumberland), 1:16; UVa 18-0
157: Jedd Moore (UVa) tech fall Shane Brown (Cumberland), 18-1 (3:49); UVa 23-0
165: Kirk Johnson (Cumberland) dec. M.J. Roberson (UVa), 3-1; UVa 23-3
174: Zeke Hunt (Cumberland) dec. Dusty Floyd (UVa), 7-2; UVa 23-6
184: Zach Nye (UVa) pinned Cody Linton (Cumberland), 2:30; UVa 29-6
197: Mike Sapolek (UVa) pinned Joe Gallegos (Cumberland), 1:48; UVa 35-6
285: Patrick Gillen (UVa) dec. Tyler Smith (Cumberland), 11-4; UVa 38-6
No. 4 Iowa 26, No. 17 Virginia 12
125: No.1 Matt McDonough (Iowa) dec. No. 5 Matt Snyder (UVa), 9-4; Iowa 3-0
133: No. 3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) major dec. George DiCamillo (UVa), 22-8; Iowa 7-0
141: No. 14 Mark Ballweg (Iowa) major dec. Joe Spisak (UVa), 14-3; Iowa 11-0
149: No. 10 Derek Valenti (UVa) dec. Brody Grothus (Iowa), 9-5; Iowa 11-3
157: No. 1 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. Jedd Moore (UVa), 6-0; Iowa 14-3
165: No. 4 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. No. 8 Nick Sulzer (UVa), 7-4; Iowa 17-3
174: No. 9 John Fausey (UVa) pinned No. 8 Grant Gambrell (Iowa), 8:29; Iowa 17-9
184: No. 8 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) dec. Stephen Doty (UVa), 3-1; Iowa 20-9
197: Mike Salopek (UVa) dec. Tomas Lira (Iowa), 8-6; Iowa 20-12
285: No. 6 Bobby Telford (Iowa) won by forfeit; Iowa 26-12
**Virginia/Iowa individual rankings according to InterMat
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