Feb. 10, 2001

ROANOKE, Va. - The Virginia Tech wrestling team downed the University of Virginia , 27-13, before a near-capacity crowd of 836 Saturday night at Northside High School. The Hokies jumped out to a 24-7 lead and never looked back in improving their record to 7-6-1 on the year. Virginia falls to 5-7 on the year.

All-American Sean Gray got things started for the Hokies at 141 pounds with a technical fall over Bob Seidel. Gray, ranked fourth in the nation in his weight class, finished Seidel off with a near fall to end the match in the third period. The Cavaliers won the next two matches to take a 7-5 lead. At 157 pounds, P.J. Bory held off a late charge from Tech's Brent Rider to hold on for the 6-4 decision. Don Carlo-Clauss gave UVa its only lead of the night when he earned a 15-7 major decision over Brian Wilson.

The Hokies won the next four matches to put the dual meet away. At 165 pounds, All-American Chris Martin, who is ranked fifth in the nation, gave the Hokies six team points when he pinned Greg Francesca in the first period. At 174 pounds, eleventh-ranked Eric Hall earned a 23-10 major decision over Brian Muir. At 184 pounds, sophomore Scott Justus got a big pin over Jimi Massey to give the Hokies a 21-7 lead.

Wes Cummings gave the Hokies three team points with his 8-5 win over Zach Freday at 197 pounds. In the heavyweight bout, Virginia's Josh Etu defeated Damian Hamlin, 5-1, to make the score 24-10, Hokies. The 125-pound bout saw two former high school teammates go head-to-head. Virginia Tech's David Thurston made his collegiate debut, but fell to the Cavaliers' Ryan Stewart by a score of 14-9. In the evening's final match, Tech's Jeremy Gaysek downed Joe Alexander, 7-5, to give the Hokies the 27-13 victory.

The Hokies are back in action on Friday night, hosting Clarion in a key EWL match. The match will be held in Cassell Coliseum and begins at 7 p.m.

MATCH RESULTS
Virginia Tech 27, Virginia 13

141 - #4 Sean Gray (VT) TF Bob Seidel (UVa), 5:36
149 - P.J. Bory (UVa) dec. Brent Rider (VT), 6-4
157 - Don Carlo-Clauss (UVa) maj. dec.. Brian Wilson (VT), 15-7
165 - #5 Chris Martin (VT) fall Greg Francesca (UVa), 2:05
174 - #11 Eric Hall (VT) maj. dec. Brian Muir (UVa), 23-10
184 - Scott Justus (VT) fall Jimi Massey (UVa), 3:46
197 - Wes Cummings (VT) dec. Zach Freday (UVa), 8-5
285 - Josh Etu (UVa) dec. Damian Hamlin (VT), 5-1
125 - Ryan Stewart (UVa) dec. David Thurston (VT), 14-9
133 - Jeremy Gaysek (VT) vs. Joe Alexander (UVa), 7-5