Feb. 9, 2000

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The University of Virginia wrestling team returned to dual match action when the Cavaliers faced the James Madison Dukes in Memorial Gymnasium. Virginia didn't waste any time taking control of the match, as UVa won eight of the ten matches on the evening, including the first five consecutive match-ups, en route to a 27-7 victory.

The Cavaliers jumped out to a commanding 18-0 lead by claiming the first five matches of the evening. UVa's Steve Garland (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) started the night off with a 7-4 victory over James Madison's Jonathan Huesdash in the 125 pound class to give the Cavaliers an early 3-0 lead. Toby MacDonald (Venice, Fla./Venice) pushed the Virginia lead to 6-0 after he topped JMU's Mark Minuto by the score of 15-8 in the 133 pound match. UVa's P.J. Bory (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) handed the Dukes' Dave Vollmer an 8-1 loss in the 141 pound class to extend Virginia's lead to 9-0 through three matches.

Then, the Cavaliers' John Pozniak (State College, Pa./State College) posted the evenings lone fall of the match when he pinned James Madison's Mike Robostello at 2:59 in the 149 pound class to make it a 15-0 Virginia lead. UVa's Don Carlo-Clauss (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Olympia) recorded Virginia's fifth consecutive win when he gathered a 6-5 decision over JMU's Jimmy O'Connor in the 157 pound class to give the Cavaliers an 18-0 lead.

James Madison recorded victories in the next two matches to make it an 18-7 contest when the Dukes' Seth Cameron tallied a 10-2 major decision victory over UVa's Brian Muir (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) and Nathan Rickman topped Virginia's Steve Mazzola (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Edwards) by the score of 9-3 in the 174 pound class.

However, the Cavaliers would claim the final three matches beginning with UVa's Ryan McGrath's (Blairstown, N.J./Blair Academy) 8-3 decision over Sam Maltese in the 184 pound class. Jimi Massey (Williamsport, Md./Williamsport) held off JMU's Elliot Williams by the score of 6-5 in the 197 pound class before the Cavaliers' Ryan Painter (Rainelle, V.W./Rainelle) topped the Duke's D.J. Hockman by the count of 8-2 in the heavyweight class to give UVa a 27-7 victory.

With the win, Virginia improves its dual meet record to 3-4 overall, while the loss drops James Madison's dual match record to 3-3 on the season. The Cavaliers will return to home action on Saturday, February 12th when Virginia host the Virginia Tech Hokies in a dual match competition. The event is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. and will be held in Memorial Gymnasium.