January 29, 2012

The No. 22 UVa wrestling team jumped out to a 16-0 lead Sunday to win their fifth consecutive dual match and beat No. 13 Maryland for the first time in six tries. The Cavaliers (7-1, 4-1)won six of ten bouts to hand the Terrapins (13-1, 3-1) their first season loss 22-14.

The Cavaliers defeated their highest-ranked opponent in school history (No. 13) and clinched a share of the regular season crown. They are tied with Virginia Tech (4-1), while Maryland has one match left.

Sunday's dual started with five straight victories for Virginia. At 125, No. 10 Matt Snyder earned a 7-0 decision over the Terps 19th-ranked Shane Gentry. Brothers Matt and Nick Nelson (No. 9) followed with victories at 133 and 141 lbs.

Sophomore Gus Sako continued the trend with a bonus points victory at 149, a 10-2 win over Ben Dorsay. Jedd Moore upset 11th-ranked Kyle John at 157lbs with a 5-3 decision to help the Cavaliers to a 16-0 lead.

Maryland won back-to-back bouts at 165 and 174 pounds to cut the match deficit to 16-7. But UVa's Jon Fausey secured a Cavalier victory with a fall over Josh Snook in 3:21.

The win over Maryland is the first for any wrestler on the team. UVa's last win was February 17, 2006.

The Cavaliers will next host Rutgers February 4 at 6 p.m. at Memorial Gymnasium.

FINAL RESULTS
No. 22 Virginia 22, No. 13 Maryland 14

125: No. 10 Matt Snyder (Virginia) dec. No. 19 Shane Gentry (Maryland), 7-0; UVa 3-0
133: Matt Nelson (Virginia) dec. Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland), 4-2; UVa 6-0
141: No. 9 Nick Nelson (Virginia) dec. Frank Goodwin (Maryland), 5-2; UVa 9-0
149: Gus Sako (Virginia) major dec. Ben Dorsay (Maryland), 10-2; UVa 13-0
157: Jedd Moore (Virginia) dec. No. 11 Kyle John (Maryland), 5-3; UVa 16-0
165: No. 2 Josh Asper (Maryland) dec. No. 14 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 4-3; UVa 16-3
174: No. 15 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) major dec. Vinny Waldhauser (Virginia), 11-3; UVa 16-7
184: No. 14 Jon Fausey (Virginia) pinned Ty Snook (Maryland), 3:21; UVa 22-7
197: No. 5 Christian Boley (Maryland) major dec. Ryan Malo (Virginia), 11-2; UVa 22-11
285: No. 8 Spencer Myers (Maryland) dec. Derek Papagianopoulos (Virginia), 6-1; UVa 22-14