UVA Wrestling Goes 3-1 at the Virginia Duals in Hampton

The Cavaliers defeated Ohio, Navy, and Kent State and lost to Maryland this weekend at the Virginia Duals

The Virginia wrestling team competed in the Virginia Duals this weekend at the Hampton Coliseum and the Cavaliers turned in a 3-1 record across four matches, defeating Ohio, Navy, and Kent State and losing to No. 23 Maryland. 

Friday: Virginia 23, Ohio 10

Virginia fell behind 3-0 early, but Garrett Grice earned a major decision over Ohio's Mason Brugh at 133 to put the Cavaliers in front 4-3. UVA won three of the next four weight classes, with Brian Courtney (141), Michael Gioffre (149), and Nick Hamilton (165) earning three points each to make it 13-7 in favor of the Hoos. Both Gioffre and Hamilton upended nationally ranked opponents in their wins. Ohio made it 13-10 with a win at 174, but then UVA won the final three weight classes, as Neil Antrassian (184) and Michael Battista (197) earned three-point decisions before Ethan Weatherspoon capped the match with a major decision over Drew Harris to give Virginia a 23-10 victory over Ohio. 

Friday: Virginia 29, Navy 9

The Cavaliers started strong in Friday's second match against Navy, taking each of the first six weight classes to build an insurmountable 26-0 lead. Patrick McCormick started things off with a win at 125 before Garrett Grice pinned his opponent at 133 to earn six points for Virginia. Brian Courtney earned three points at 141 with a big upset over No. 14 Josh Koderhandt and then Michael Gioffre won via technical fall at 149. Denton Spencer (157) pinned Navy's Devon Deem in less than two minutes and then Nick Hamilton defeated Val Park at 165 to make it 26-0. Navy would win three of the last four weight classes, but Michael Battista's upset win over No. 29 Jake Koser gave the Cavaliers a 29-9 victory. 

Saturday: Virginia 33, Kent State 6

Kent State won the first and last weight classes of the match, but Virginia won everything else. Garett Grice (133), Vic Marcelli (174), Hadyn Danals (184), and Michael Battista (197) earned three-point decisions for UVA, while Michael Gioffre (149) and Denton Spencer (157) both pinned their opponents. Dylan Cedeno won via technical fall at 141 and Nick Hamilton (165) earned a major decision in an upset win over No. 25 Enrique Munguia. 

Saturday: Virginia 14, No. 22 Maryland 22

In the finale of the Virginia duals, UVA lost a hard-fought battle with the No. 22-ranked Terrapins. Virginia and Maryland traded major decisions in the first two weight classes, as No. 23 Braxton Brown earned four points against UVA's Patrick McCormick, but Garrett Grice pulled the Cavaliers back even by winning his fourth individual matchup of the weekend, defeating Connor Quinn via major decision at 133. After that, Maryland won the next three weight classes as the Terps sent out three-consecutive ranked wrestlers who each earned three-point decisions to make it 13-4 in favor of Maryland. Nick Hamilton got Virginia back on the board with his fourth win of the weekend at 165, but the Terps answered right back as Dom Solis defeated UVA's Justin Phillips (174) to make it 16-7. The Hoos refused to give up, as No. 16 Neil Antrassian won a major decision against Chase Mielnik at 184 and then Michael Battista defeated Maryland's Jaxon Smith to cut the deficit to 16-14 with just one weight class remaining. With the match hanging in the balance, Maryland's No. 30-ranked Jaron Smith managed to pin Virginia's Ethan Weatherspoon at 285 to seal the 22-14 win for the Terrapins. 

Now 6-2 on the season, Virginia begins ACC play next weekend at home against No. 25 Pittsburgh at Memorial Gymnasium on Friday at 7pm. 

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