The wrestling team finished up its regular season by taking it to in-state rivals Old Dominion and George Mason at Memorial Gym in Charlottesville. The Hoos, currently ranked 21st in the nation, beat the #23 Monarchs 31-3, then capped the day with a 29-7 victory against the Patriots of GMU.

The team's ability to blow strong competition out of the water in dual meets continues to impress. UVA completes its season with an 11-1 record, the best finish in program history. A home loss against #22 Virginia Tech that came down to sudden-death in the final bout is all that stands in the way of an undefeated year, but the Hoos rebounded from that tough defeat by reeling off 9 straight wins.

Today, Virginia won 17 of the 20 weight classes wrestled. Jedd Moore picked up bonus points with his 19-7 victory over his opponent from ODU, as did Nick Sulzer and Vinny Waldhauser, who won 21-9 and 14-1, respectively, against Mason. Augustus Sako earned the day's only pin, sticking his opponent with 26 seconds remaining in the third period.

Virginia's four departing student-athletes were honored during Senior Day ceremonies before the match. Shawn Harris, Sam MacGregor, Ryan Malo, and Nick Nelson were all sent off in front of an appreciate home crowd who braved the mid-February snow.

Seven of the team's wrestlers competed twice, with six of those picking up two wins on the day. The Cavaliers sat the other three starters against a lesser George Mason team and got MacGregor a match at 157 pounds. The match of the day was wrestled by Nick Nelson. ranked 7th nationally, who defeated #26 Justin LaValle in a 1-0 nail-biter.

The Monarchs were held to their lowest output of the season, though they were without three of their top wrestlers. Old Dominion is coming off a tough two-week stretch in which it fell to #19 Binghamton on the road, but crushed NC State 34-3 and edged #22 Central Michigan 18-17. The squad also has quality wins this season in dual meets against previously-ranked Rutgers and Iowa State.

The Cavaliers have two weeks to regroup and prepare for the ACC Championships on March 3rd in Chapel Hill. Last year, UVA hosted the tournament but finished in a disappointing third place, as Maryland stormed to a surprise win. That time, Virginia was poised for a strong finish but went 0-5 in the finals. While this year's team is without its leader, Chris Henrich, its depth should be an asset in tournament competition. The tournament is wide-open, with UVA, Maryland, and Virginia Tech all having the potential to take home the title. Virginia has continued to experience tangible improvement throughout the year; if the team peaks at the right time, we could be celebrating the program's second ACC Championship in three years. The tournament will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.

The wrestling team continued its dual meet winning streak this weekend with another quality win, this time over Rutgers at Memorial Gym in Charlottesville. The squad continued to prove its mettle, winning its 6th straight match by taking seven out of ten weight classes.

Though a loss to Rutgers would have been a disappointment for the 20th-ranked Cavaliers, the path to victory was what impressed. The Red Knights don't have a deep team, but they do have a couple impressive individual wrestlers. The inconsistency of their team has shown in both impressive wins over #25 Old Dominion, Harvard, and Navy and also a two-game losing streak to Hofstra and West Virginia that sent them out of the rankings.

The victory was even more meaningful considering two giant holes in the UVA lineup. Matt Snyder and Matt Nelson, 11th and 20th ranked in the nation, both missed their matches because of injuries. This delivered an early 6-0 lead to Rutgers when UVA was forced to forfeit at 125 pounds. Joseph Martinez filled in for admirably for Nelson, eking out a 7-5 victory.

Virginia sealed the win by taking care of the Red Knights' big guns at 149 and 165 pounds. Gus Sako picked up the upset of the day, defeating fifth-ranked Mario Mason to break a 6-6 tie in the match. Sako grabbed a quick takedown for an early lead and managed to hold Mason down for much of the third period, earning a bonus point for riding time and not allowing enough time for a late comeback in a 5-3 win. At 165 pounds, Virginia's #17 Nick Sulzer won a showdown against #17 Scott Winston; Sulzer led 3-2 in the third period and converted another takedown to win by a 5-2 final.

Don't overlook this team in postseason competition. Virginia's only loss this season came against a tough Virginia Tech team in the final seconds of overtime in the final bout. Since the loss, UVA has demolished its dual meet opponents; its closest competition was its meet with #17 Maryland, a match the Hoos won 22-14 and had locked up with 2 bouts left to wrestle. Though the team's depth is more of an asset in dual meets than tournament play, the Hoos still have plenty who could compete for ACC and national championships.

The team hits the road next week, traveling to Boone, NC to take on Appalachian State. It's a welcome change of pace for a group that hasn't wrestled away from Mem Gym since early January. UVA returns home February 19th to complete its regular season schedule with back-to-back meets against in-state rivals #25 Old Dominion and George Mason.

The stage was set at Memorial Gym in Charlottesville, where the Virginia and Maryland faced off in a duel meet that would determine the fate of the ACC's regular season. The 22nd-ranked Cavaliers entered at 3-1 in the conference, and #13 Maryland came in 3-0, undefeated overall on the season. However, neither team had seen much in the way of quality dual meet opponents - each saw their only ranked team in #23 Virginia Tech, with Maryland easily prevailing 25-10 in Blacksburg, and the Hokies winning at John Paul Jones in thrilling fashion.

This afternoon, the Cavaliers came out hungry to grab one of the biggest wins in program history. UVA jumped to a big early lead and clinched the match 8 bouts in, defeating Maryland by a 22-14 final tally.

The early run shifted momentum quickly to the Hoos; the team won the first 5 bouts to grab a commanding 16-0 lead. The day started at 125 pounds where Matt Snyder, 11th-ranked in the country, set the tone with a stifling 7-0 win over his 19th-ranked opponent. The Nelson twins increased the margin to 9 after Matt and Nick grinded out 5-2 and 4-2 wins, respectively. UVA then picked up bonus points on a major decision at 149 pounds and pulled off an upset when Jedd Moore defeated #11 Kyle John.

Maryland had tough match-ups for the Hoos at 165 and 174 and won both, fighting back to cut the lead to 16-7 with 3 bouts to go. With the Terps sending out top 10 wrestlers at 197 and 285 pounds, the 184-pound matchup between #14 Jon Fausey and Ty Snook of Maryland was going to be vital. A win for Fausey would guarantee that Maryland could at best force a tiebreaker scenario, while any bonus points would clinch the match for UVA. Fausey didn't blink, providing an exclamation point with a second period pin, giving the match and a share of the ACC regular season title to Virginia. Jon is now 8-0 in dual meets and, notably, has scored a team-high 40 points in those match-ups. The Terps took the final two bouts, meaningless to the outcome, as the Hoos prevailed 22-14.

With the win, Virginia has finished the ACC season at 4-1 and improves to 7-1 overall in dual meets with 4 remaining. Virginia Tech has already completed its slate and stands at 4-1 also, with its lone defeat at the hands of the Terrapins. Maryland, now 3-1, will finish off its season against lowly Duke, which shouldn't give the Terps much trouble. UVA, UMD, and VT should all share finish their seasons tied for first.

A well-defined separation exists in the ACC, with the 4-1 trio similarly talented and atop the conference. NC State, UNC, and Duke (the other ACC schools that field wrestling teams) are a combined 0-8 against the upper half; NC State still has a chance to separate themselves from the muddle in the basement, as they have meets against the Tar Heels and Blue Devils to come.

UVA continues its season next weekend when a tough Rutgers team (currently just outside the top 25) visits Memorial Gym. The ACC Championships will be held March 3rd in Chapel Hill and should be a closely-contested battle to determine the team ACC champion, as well as a great chance to watch some rematches of the close matches we have seen this year, especially against the Hokies. Congrats to the wrestling program on establishing itself in the ACC's elite with the big win.

(Video highlights of the match should be available this evening on VirginiaSportsTV. We'll get you a link to that when it is posted)

After a long quiet period for the Virginia wrestlers, the team moved into the meat of its ACC schedule in style this weekend. With the two Carolina schools visiting, the Hoos had duel meets on back to back days and did not falter against lesser combination. The team took care of business in its 39-3 win over Duke and 24-10 victory against North Carolina.

Neither match ever figured to be much of a challenge for 22nd-ranked UVA, who improved to 6-1 on the year (3-1 ACC). Duke's wrestlers, winless in duel meets this year, have spent almost as much time on their backs as their counterparts on the basketball team. North Carolina's loss drops them to 2-10 on the year, with one of its wins coming against Duke in Chapel Hill. The teams have some familiarity this year; all competed at the Southern Scuffle in Chatanooga on New Years Day, with Virginia finishing in 6th out of 22 teams, UNC 12th, and Duke 19th.

Against Duke, UVA won 9 of 10 matches, most in dominating fashion. Six wins were by major decision (8 points or more), and two were by default. In fact, the Blue Devils finished the trip with just three takedowns. Virginia lost its opportunity to post a shutout when Sam MacGregor, wrestling in place of Nick Nelson, dropped a decision 8-2. However, Duke would drop its final 7 matches without threatening in any.

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Unlike the football team Saturday, 22nd ranked UVA wrestling provided plenty of excitement, but they ultimately failed to avenge our football loss to the Hokies.  In the first ever duel meet at John Paul Jones Arena, 18th ranked Virginia Tech did just enough to come away with a win.

The match promised to be one between two evenly matched teams, and it didn't disappoint. One would be hard-pressed to find a more closely-contested meet.  In only one bout did a wrestler pick up bonus points for his team, when Jon Fausey notched a major decision at 184 pounds.  That victory gave the Hoos a 13-12 lead with two bouts left.  Ryan Malo put up a great fight at 197 pounds, but fell to 16th-ranked Nick Vetterlein 4-2 to give the Hokies a 15-13 advantage and set up a winner-take-all heavyweight matchup between UVA's Ethan Hayes and Tech's Chris Penny.  (A match is worth 3 team points for a decision, 4 points for a major decision of between 8-14 points, 5 points for a technical fall of over 15 points, and 6 for a fall, or a pin).

The drama of the last bout brought the large crowd at JPJ to its feet, as it chanted "Ethan!" throughout the match and roared when points were scored.  Hayes scored 2 points for a near fall, only the second set of back points for either team in the afternoon, in the 3rd period to take a 4-2 lead, which Penny cut to 4-3 with an escape.  Thought it appeared time may elapse, giving the match to UVA, Penny picked up a takedown on the edge of the mat with 7 seconds to go.  Needing an escape to force overtime, Hayes pulled off a clutch rolling kick out to tie it up, with the crowd at fever pitch.  However, a takedown late in the sudden-death period sent the Hoos home unhappy again.  

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Record: (19-7), 3rd in ACC Championships, 23rd in NCAA Championships

MVP: Chris Henrich

You can't deny someone of the MVP when he's the two-time VaSID State Wrestler of the Year and the program's only three-time All-American. The 174-pounder finished the season 35-5, and had a 136-21 record over his career, becoming Virginia's most decorate wrestler in school history.

Overview: Virginia Wrestling finished the season with a record high 19 wins, and while they couldn't repeat the upset over heavy favorites Virginia Tech in the ACC Championships held at John Paul Jones Arena, the Hoos did finish a very respectable third, with all ten wrestlers finishing fourth or better. First the first time since 2004 and only the fourth time in program history, the Cavaliers had two All Americans in Henrich (6th at 174) and Derek Valenti (8th at 149).

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Seven Virginia wrestlers are preparing to spend their St. Patrick's Day in Philadelphia, home of the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Headlined by national fifth seed and four-time NCAA competitor Chris Henrich, five wrestlers earned an automatic bid based on their performance at the ACC Championships, while two additional wrestlers earned an at-large berth.

"It's actually a harder and more expensive ticket to come by than the Final Four," NCAA associate director for championships Jeff Jarnecke said in a Philly.com article. "That's the rumor, at least."

At 174 pounds, Henrich will be facing Eric Starks of Arizona State, whom Henrich had beaten in January at the Virginia Duals.

Joining Henrich will be first-timers Jon Fausey (184 lbs.), Matt Snyder (125 lbs.) and Joe Spisak (133 lbs.) and second-timers Jack Danilkowicz (heavyweight), Nick Nelson (141 lbs.) and Derek Valenti (149 lbs.).

Last year, the 2010 ACC Champion Cavaliers finished 15th at the NCAA Championships, the program's second-best finish. This year's seven competitors is just one shy of the school record eight, set last year.

For the first-time ever, ESPN, ESPNU and ESPN3.com will combine to air all six rounds of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship.

ESPNU HD will serve as the home of the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds Friday, March 18, starting at 10:30 a.m. and the medal round on Saturday, March 19, at 11 a.m. ESPN3.com will exclusively air the first and second rounds on Thursday, March 17, beginning at 11 a.m., and provide individual coverage of all four mats of the quarterfinals. ESPN HD and ESPN3.com will present the final round on Saturday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m.

It's ACC Wrestling Championship day, and things have just gone under way in Charlottesville, where John Paul Jones Arena plays host to six ACC schools and four wrestlers ranked among the nation's top five in their respective weight classes, one of which is two-time defending ACC champion Chris Henrich of Virginia at 174 pounds. Virginia will try to defend its 2010 ACC Championship title from predicted favorites Virginia Tech.

Along with Henrich, highlighting the event are N.C. State's Darrion Caldwell, 2009 NCAA Division I champion, (No. 1 at 149 pounds), Josh Asper of Maryland (No. 4 at 165 pounds), and Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech (No. 5 at 157 pounds).

Coming out of the ACC Championship will be twenty automatic NCAA Championship bids, broken down as 125 - 2; 133 - 1; 141 - 3; 149 - 2; 157 - 3; 165 - 2; 174 - 2; 184 - 3; 197 - 1; 285 - 1. The NCAA Championships will take place on March 17-19 at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia.

This has already shaped out to be one of the best seasons in Virginia history, as the Cavaliers earlier set the school record 19 dual match victories in the regular season. Virginia has three No. 1 seeds in this year's Championships. Including Henrich, the Hoos have Mike Salopek, who won a gold medal last year at 184 pounds and is top-seeded this year at 197. Redshirt freshman Jon Fausey is the top seed at 184.

Only Virginia Tech, with four, has more No. 1 seeds than Virginia's three. The Hokies are ranked sixth nationally, and InterMat predicts the Hokies, Terrapins, and Wolfpack to finish in a three-way tie for 22nd nationally.

A live broadcast of the ACC Championships will be available for tonight's finals and consolation finals, beginning at 5:00 p.m.