Murray, wrestling in the night's final match at 197 lbs., came into his match against Wil Carter as the Keydets faced a 19-15 deficit. And while he collected his fifth win in six tries this season, he could ‘only' manage an 18-5 major decision, needing just two more points to secure a five-point technical fall victory in front of a packed house that cheered him on for the entirety of the match.
"Tonight was a good team effort," said VMI head coach John Trudgeon. "We just continue to struggle finding ways to win. Hopefully we're picking up lessons and learning from these matches, we just have to keep working hard, and maybe something good will happen for us."
The Keydets (1-4-1, 0-0-1 SoCon) and Wildcats (1-2-1, 0-1-1 SoCon) alternated wins in the first eight classes, starting with a forfeit victory by VMI's Scott Buhman at heavyweight. At 125, Davidson senior Patrick Coman picked up a vital major decision, scoring a 9-0 win over Keydet sophomore Lam Ly to cut the VMI margin to 6-4.
Freshman Brandon Stillo shut out Davidson's Travis Hunter at 133, advancing VMI's lead to 9-4 with his 4-0 decision. But the Wildcats countered at 141 lbs., as Jim Avola scored an 8-6 win over Jochen Granja to again cut the VMI lead to two at 9-7. VMI junior Sam Alvarenga then improved his record to 15-6 and 5-1 in dual matches with his hard-fought, 6-3 decision over Matt Leonard at 149.
The match's momentum swung at 157 lbs., where Keydet sophomore Tommy Cunningham appeared to be well on his way to a victory with less than a minute remaining before Matt Pendle caught Cunningham out of position and pinned him at the 6:06 mark, giving the Wildcats their first lead of the night at 13-12.
With four matches remaining, Chris Hardy again gave the hosts the advantage, scoring a 10-4 victory over DC's Jimmy Colavita to even his record to 10-10 on the season. But the Wildcats again countered, as Marcus Boyd won in a shootout, defeating Dustin McCabe 23-17 to move the visitors ahead, 16-15.
At 184 lbs., a pair of freshmen battled it out, as VMI's Cubby Elgert and Davidson's Sam O'Hair fought in the ninth match of the evening. In complete contrast to the 174 match, Elgert and O'Hair wrestled a low-scoring match, with O'Hair finally prevailing 3-2 to set the stage for Murray in the final match.
The Keydets return to action Saturday afternoon, when they travel to College Park, Md. to battle the University of Maryland in a 1 p.m. match. Next Thursday, the Keydets return to Southern Conference action, as they travel to Boone, N.C. to take on Appalachian State.
VMI 19, DAVIDSON 19
285- Scott Buhman (V) wins by forfeit, VMI 6-0
125- Patrick Coman (D) maj. dec. Lam Ly, 9-0, VMI 6-4
133- Brandon Stillo (V) dec. Travis Hunter, 4-0, VMI 9-4
141- Jim Avola (D) dec. Jochen Granja, 8-6, VMI 9-7
149- Sam Alvarenga (V) dec. Matt Leonard, 6-3, VMI 12-7
157- Matt Pendle (D) fall Tommy Cunningham, 6:06, DAV 13-12
165- Chris Hardy (V) dec. Jimmy Colavita, 10-4, VMI 15-13
174- Marcus Boyd (D) dec. Dustin McCabe, 23-17, DAV 16-15
184- Sam O'Hair (D) dec. Kyle Elgert, 3-2, DAV 19-15
197- Corry Murray (V) maj. dec. 18-5, Tied 19-19
Att. -- 629
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