Wrestling Suffers 18-16 Defeat to Virginia Tech

Courtesy: David Petkofsky/UVa Media Relations Eric Albright earned a 12-1 major decision at 133 pounds.

RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia wrestling team lost an 18-16 match Sunday against Virginia Tech in the 'Rumble on the River' at Deep Run High School in Richmond. The teams split the 10 bouts, but a Virginia Tech pin at 141 pounds with just one second remaining in the match proved to be the difference.

Chris Henrich (Fr., Lansdale, Pa.) opened UVa’s day with a 6-2 decision over No. 20 Eric Decker at 174 pounds. The win was Henrich’s 11th straight as he pushed his record to 19-6 this year and earned his first win over a ranked opponent.

Virginia Tech (5-5, 1-2 ACC) scored big upsets at 184 and 197 to grab the lead. Tommy Spellman handed ninth-ranked Rocco Caponi (Jr., Uniontown, Ohio) his second loss of the season with a 5-2 decision at 184. Kevin O’Connor then nabbed an 8-6 win over No. 15 Brent Jones at 197.

Virginia (14-4, 1-1) fell into a 9-3 hole as Hokie heavyweight David Marone scored a takedown on Jack Danilkowicz (So., Green Oaks, Ill.) with a second remaining in the sudden victory period for a 3-1 win. UVa then got its own win in the sudden victory period at 125 as Ross Gitomer (So., Flemington, N.J.) notched a 5-3 victory over Justin Staylor and improved to 30-8 on the season.

The Cavaliers re-took the lead, 10-9, when 20th-ranked Eric Albright (Jr., York, Pa.) rolled to a 12-1 major decision over Jared Jones as he improved to 19-5 this season. The Hokies grabbed the lead back for good when Chris Diaz rallied from an early deficit to pin Kellon Balum (So., Herndon, Pa.) at 141 with one second left in the third period. Virginia Tech then extended the lead to 18-10 when Matt Rosen earned a 4-1 decision over Pat Riley (So., Bernardsville, N.J.) at 149.

UVa captured the final two weight classes, as Drew DiPasquale (Jr., Bloomsburg, Pa.) earned a 4-1 decision over Andre Johnson at 157 and Michael Chaires (Fr., Scotia, N.Y.) posted a 6-3 win over Matt Epperly at 165.

Virginia finishes its nonconference slate Saturday with a double dual with Newberry and Campbell at Memorial Gymnasium. The Cavaliers will take on Newberry at 1 p.m. and Campbell at 7 p.m. The Indians and Camels will wrestle at 4 p.m.

Virginia Tech 18, Virginia 16
Match started at 174
174: Chris Henrich (UVa) dec. No. 20 Eric Decker (VT), 6-2; UVa 3, VT 0
184: Tommy Spellman (VT) dec. No. 9 Rocco Caponi (UVa), 5-2; UVa 3, VT 3
197: Kevin O'Connor (VT) dec. No. 15 Brent Jones (UVa), 8-6; UVa 3, VT 6
HWT: David Marone (VT) SV Jack Danilkowicz (UVa), 3-1; UVa 3, VT 9
125: Ross Gitomer (UVa) SV Justin Staylor (VT), 5-3; UVa 6, VT 9
133: No. 20 Eric Albright (UVa) major dec. Jared Jones (VT), 12-1; UVa 10, VT 9
141: Chris Diaz (VT) fall Kellon Balum (UVa), 6:59; UVa 10, VT 15
149: Matt Rosen (VT) dec. Pat Riley (UVa), 4-1; UVa 10, VT 18
157: Drew DiPasquale (UVa) dec. Andre Johnson (VT), 4-1; UVa 13, VT 18
165: Michael Chaires (UVa) dec. Matt Epperly (VT), 6-3; UVa 16, VT 18