CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia wrestling team picked up two conference victories Sunday in Durham, N.C. The Cavaliers opened the day with a 30-12 win over North Carolina State at Durham’s Riverside High School, then capped the day with a 19-15 triumph over Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Virginia (18-4, 3-1 ACC) received a monster performance out of 184-pounder
Rocco Caponi (Jr., Uniontown, Ohio). Ranked 12th nationally, Caponi recorded two falls, needing just one minute, 48 seconds total to do so. Caponi improved to 34-2 this season and set the single-season wins record for a UVa junior, topping the previous mark of 32, set by Mike Krafchick in 1994.
Against NC State, the Cavaliers fell behind 9-0 to start, but rebounded to win seven of the final eight bouts. Trailing 9-0, UVa got consecutive decisions from
Drew DiPasquale (Jr, Bloomsburg, Pa.) and freshmen
Michael Chaires (Scotia, N.Y.) and No. 19
Chris Henrich (Lansdale, Pa.) at 157, 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, then received quick pins in succession from Caponi in one minute and 20th-ranked
Brent Jones (Burke, Va.) in just 54 seconds to turn the match around as UVa took a 21-9 lead.
After NC State (8-9-1, 1-3) earned a decision from Bobby Isola at heavyweight, UVa’s
Ross Gitomer (So., Flemington, N.J.) earned a 4-1 decision over Taylor Cummings at 125.
Eric Albright (Jr., York, Pa.) put a cap on the match with a pin of Darius Little in 2:59 at 133.
The match against Duke (9-8, 0-4) was considerably tighter, with the final outcome hinging on the last bout between Albright and Chris Thumen at 133. Once again, Albright dominated in a 13-1 major decision to propel UVa to a 19-15 team win.
UVa had to come from behind against the Blue Devils as well after falling into a 9-3 hole through four bouts. Again, the upperweights came up big. Henrich started things with a 7-5 decision over Ben Wales at 174, as he ran his winning streak to 14-consecutive matches. Caponi followed with a fall in 48 seconds over John Barone, and Jones added a 5-2 decision over Dan Tulley to give UVa a 15-9 lead. The win pushed Jones’ record to 30-9 this year.
Duke knotted the match at 15, as Mike Tunick earned a 6-5 decision over
Jack Danilkowicz (So., Green Oaks, Ill.) in the heavyweight class and Kellon McKeon nabbed a 3-1 sudden victory over Gitomer at 125, setting up Albright’s clinching win.
Chaires, with his win in the NC State bout, notched his 29th victory of the season, tying the freshman record previously set by Jody Jackson (1989) and Albright (2006).
The Cavaliers will take next weekend off before returning home for the regular-season finale Feb. 24 against No. 23 Maryland. With a win, Virginia can earn a share of the ACC regular-season title with the Terrapins.
Virginia 30, NC State 12
Match started at 141
141: No. 6 Joe Caramanica (NCS) dec.
Nick Nelson (UVa), 7-0; UVa 0, NCS 3
149: No. 9 Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned
Shawn Harris (UVa), 1:33; UVa 0, NCS 9
157: Drew DiPasquale (UVa) dec. Colton Palmer (NCS), 9-7; UVa 3, NCS 9
165: Michael Chaires (UVa) dec. Jalil Dozier (NCS), 10-5; UVa 6, NCS 9
174: No. 19
Chris Henrich (UVa) dec. Ray Ward (NCS), 11-5; UVa 9, NCS 9
184: No. 12
Rocco Caponi (UVa) pinned Dane Coffee (NCS), 1:00; UVa 15, NCS 9
197: No. 20
Brent Jones (UVa) pinned Mark Jahad (NCS), 0:54; UVa 21, NCS 9
HWT: Bobby Isola (NCS) dec.
Jack Danilkowicz (NCS), 5-3; UVa 21, NCS 12
125: Ross Gitomer (UVa) dec. Taylor Cummings (NCS), 4-1, UVa 24, NCS 12
133: No. 20
Eric Albright (UVa) pinned Darius Little (NCS), 2:59; UVa 30, NCS 12
Virginia 19, Duke 15
Match started at 141
141: Nick Nelson (UVa) dec. Bryan Gibson (Duke), 8-2; UVa 3, Duke 0
149: Michael Degli Obizzi (Duke) dec.
Shawn Harris (UVa), 13-10; UVa 3, Duke 3
157: Voris Tejada (Duke) dec.
Drew DiPasquale (UVa), 3-2; UVa 3, Duke 6
165: Addison Nuding (Duke) dec.
Michael Chaires (UVa), 6-3; UVa 3, Duke 9
174: No. 19
Chris Henrich (UVa) dec. Ben Wales (Duke), 7-5, UVa 6, Duke 9
184: No. 12
Rocco Caponi (UVa) fall John Barone (Duke), :48; UVa 12, Duke 9
197: No. 20
Brent Jones (UVa) dec. Dan Tulley (Duke), 5-2; UVa 15, Duke 9
HWT: Mike Tunick (Duke) dec.
Jack Danilkowicz (UVa), 6-5; UVa 15, Duke 12
125: Kellan McKeon (Duke) SV
Ross Gitomer, 3-1; UVa 15, Duke 15
133: No. 20
Eric Albright (UVa) major dec. Chris Thumen (Duke), 13-1; UVa 19, Duke 15
Full Scoreboard
Courtesy: Jeff Najarian