Jan. 13, 2018

HAMPTON, Va. – The Cavaliers closed out the Virginia Duals with a strong performance on Saturday (Jan. 13) as the Virginia (3-5) wrestling team defeated Fresno State (3-9) by a score of 29-15.

It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

The Cavaliers won 7-of-10 weight classes and got bonus-point victories from redshirt freshman Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.), sophomore Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas) and redshirt sophomore Fred Green (Orting, Wash.)

“Today was a good day with the fight from our guys,” said Virginia head coach Steve Garland. “Yesterday was a tale of two matches with one that was back and forth and a lot of fun, while the other was not a display of what Virginia wrestling is all about. Our message to guys today was when they are on the mat, they better fight.

“We did that today and it started at the top with Louie (Hayes) and Jack (Mueller) who set the tone for us just like they have all year. We feed off those two guys. Sam (Martino) got a big breakthrough win for himself and we took off from there. We have a lot of guys banged up right now and that’s my number one priority. We have to get home and find a way to get healthy mentally and physically because we have a grind ahead of us.”

Virginia started strong with bonus-point victories at the top of the lineup as Hayes, who is the No. 13-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds, pinned his opponent and Mueller posted a technical fall in his bout. Mueller is the No. 3-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds.

Sam Martino (Colonial Heights, Va.) won by decision at 141 pounds before Fresno State would get on the board with a victory at 149 pounds.

Green posted the third bonus-point win of the day at 157 pounds, pinning his opponent and kicking off a stretch of three consecutive wins by the Cavaliers. Andrew Atkinson (Lynchburg, Va.) and Will Schany (Blair, Neb.) both won by decision at 165 pounds and 174 pounds, respectively.

Fresno State picked up a win by pin at 184 pounds before Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) would cap the scoring for Virginia with a decision at 197 pounds. The Bulldogs closed the match with a win by pin at heavyweight as Virginia picked up the overall win.

The Cavaliers will return to action on Friday, Jan. 19, hosting No. 24 North Carolina at Memorial Gym in a 7 p.m. contest. Admission to all home duals is free to the public.

Virginia 29, Fresno State 15
125: No. 13 Louie Hayes pinned Sean Williams (FS), 4:03 – UVA 6, FS - 0
133: No. 3 Jack Mueller tech fall Trevor Williams (FS), 18-3 – UVA 11, FS - 0
141: Sam Martino dec. Chris DeLoza (FS), 3-1 (sv-1) – UVA 14, FS - 0
149: Khristian Olivas (FS) dec. Sam Krivus, 7-2 – UVA 14, FS -3
157: Fred Green pinned Greg Gaxiola (FS), 2:23 – UVA 20, FS - 3
165: Andrew Atkinson dec. Isaiah Hokit (FS), 7-3 – UVA 23, FS - 3
174: Will Schany dec. Dominic Kincaid (FS), 6-2 – UVA 26, FS - 3
184: Angel Solis (FS) pinned Michael Battista, 5:36 – UVA 26, FS - 9
197: Jay Aiello dec. Josh Hokit (FS), 7-4 – UVA 29, FS - 9
HWT: A.J. Nevills (FS) pinned Tyler Love, 6:01 – UVA 29, FS - 15