by STAFF
The Virginia Tech wrestling team failed to join a growing list of Tech sports to beat the University of Virginia this year. With several wrestlers out because of injury, the Hokies dropped a heartbreaking 18-16 decision Saturday to its in-state rival.
The match started at the 197-pound competition, with Scott Justus, who normally wrestles at 184 pounds, winning a 15-9 decision and picking up his 85th career victory as a Hokie.
At 125 pounds, junior Geoff Head posted a 16-4 major decision against the UVa, while his brother Dalton Head lost 5-1 at 133 pounds.
In the 141-pound weight class, freshman Jim Miller made an amazing comeback in the second period, picking up an 11-9 decision in a back-and-forth match.
Reed Carpenter wrestled an intense three periods at 149 pounds and gave the Hokies another victory, winning his match 4-2. Heavyweight Pete Pool was downed in overtime, dropping a 13-11 decision to the Cavaliers.
The pivotal point came later in the contest, with Tech?s forfeit at 157 pounds due to an injury. UVa would pick up six points with the forfeit, and would pull out two more victories to take a near insurmountable 18-13 lead.
?We wanted to start the match off with a win to gain some momentum,? head coach Keith Mourlam said. ?(But) our 157-pounder got hurt and we didn?t have anyone to replace him.?
Senior Mike Cox and freshman Steve Borja in the 165- and 174-weight classes, respectively, lost close matches, contributing to the Cavalier lead.
Sophomore Shaun Guttridge?s 1-0 decision wasn?t enough points to give Tech the win.
The loss against rival UVa comes on the heels of another defeat Friday night against Appalachian State at Cassell Coliseum. Tech was 30 seconds away from its first win of the season but couldn?t finish out.
The match took a tough turn for the Hokies when Cox was blown for his fourth caution in the second overtime against Lee Roper. His false start gave Roper the 4-3 victory.
Justus, who is currently ranked 14th in the 184-pound category, was able to pick up a major decision against Josh Carrol to improve his record to 9-3 on the year.
With under 30 seconds left to go, David Hazzel pinned Pool, stealing the victory from Tech and making the final score 23-17.
The Hokies? next match is on Feb, 9 at West Virginia.
