No. 20 UVa. wrestling wins 6th straight dual meet, knocks off Rutgers 24-12

Gus Sako defeats #5 ranked Mario Mason, Nick Sulzer beats #13 ranked Scott Winston!

Dear Friends,

 We had an incredibly trying stretch last week. We had injuries pop up with two of our best athletes, moral was down a bit and we had just come off of an emotionally exhausting win over #13 Maryland. Admittedly, we were all worn out in a lot of ways heading into this match w/ Rutgers. This team is always tough and we have been beat by them badly in the past. We have a history w/ them and we know how talented they are. They had four nationally ranked wrestlers in their line up heading into the dual meet (two of which have been in the top ten most of the year) so we knew we had our work cut out for us. That all said, our guys stepped up yet again and showed the all the attributes that have contributed to one of our most successful dual seasons in the history of our program. I have said this to you all before (perhaps too often), but our guys really are a special group. The culture on the team right now is exactly what we want our program to be. I couldn't be prouder of our guys. In the end they were able to pound out 7 individual wins out of the ten weights. Copied below are the links to the media releases (including the video highlights from the local news), but as always here are my personal thoughts on the match:

 125: Due to an injury to #11 ranked Matt Snyder, we had to make a decision late in the week that he couldn't compete. Matt should be back soon, but there just wasn't enough time after Maryland to get him ready. Thus, we had to forfeit the weight and were down 6-0 to start the dual. 

133: Top 20 ranked Matt Nelson was also out w/ an injury and we had to make another move late in the week. First year Joseph Martinez knew he had to step up and get the momentum turned quickly for us. He had so much pressure on him....I could feel it on him as I drilled with him in the pre match practice. He had all his teammates looking to him and boy did he deliver. He started the match off w/ a double leg takedown in the first 10 seconds of the bout and kept the heat on from there. Joe has had an impressive first year campaign (winning the Mat Town tournament, finishing runner up at the NC State Open and placing at the Southern Scuffle) so he's certainly a very good wrestler. But what impressed us was his poise. He grew up a lot during this week of preparation and it will undoubtedly pay dividends for him the rest of his career. 

141: Nick Nelson continues his tear....he was matched up against a very tough kid in Billy Ashnault. Ashnault is a guy that has been around for a very long time and is very hard to wrestle. He's great in the handfight, good on top and very hard to score on. Nick was able to get his offense going early though and grit out another solid win for us. Nick is 20-2 on the year and ranked as high as 8th in the nation right now. 

149: Gus Sako was one of the big stories of the night. He is just flat out very good. Tough mentally, highly skilled and has a great outlook on competing. He wrestles w/ no fear! If you have ever seen him compete, you can see that mentality right away. He went out against the #5 ranked guy in the nation (Mario Mason whose record entering the bout was 16-1) and takes him down in the first minute of the match. Racks up a ton of riding time and never looked back. He made one silly mistake at the very end of the match and gave up a reversal, but other than that he wrestled a great match and controlled most of the way. Gus now has 3 wins against top 20 ranked guys...he better get ranked this week or I might pop a gasket!!

 157: Jedd Moore lived up to his nickname "machine" this weekend, coming up w/ a technical fall victory 15-0. Jedd scored most of his points this bout from the top position which was great to see. We pride ourselves on being one of the best teams in the nation from top, so it was great to see Jedd getting turns from this position and scoring points in bunches.

165: The big story of the night came from Nick Sulzer. Nick was one point away from beating #2 ranked (and undefeated) Josh Asper of Maryland last week, but couldn't finish off the upset. This week, he didn't let same opportunity slip away. Nick used his re-shot to get two takedowns on one of the most explosive wrestlers in the nation (Scott Winston) and seal the win. Nick has had a heck of a stretch of late and now has to take on #11 ranked Blevins from App State this coming weekend. He's used to this type of grind however, coming from the St. Edward program in Ohio and he's excited for another challenge. 

174: This was one of the more frustrating bouts of the night for us. First year Vinny Waldhauser came out on fire and was up 4-1 on #17 ranked Zanetti (who boasts a 23-3 record on the year). He just made some silly freshman mistakes and pretty much let his opponent back in the match. He ended up losing a wild one 9-8. The difference was literally 8 seconds of riding-time. Vinny has shown shimmers of brilliance this year and really has come a long long way since August...but he knows he has to tighten up this mistakes and was right back in the room today at 7am working on getting better. He's a great kid and we hold him to a very high standard. His teammates love him and have vowed to help him through this tough stretch as well. Stay tuned...

 184: Jon Fausey looked great and scored on a variety of takedowns to earn a major decision bonus point victory for the team. Jon is now 18-3 on the year.

 197: Ryan Malo lost in another wild one w/ another nationally ranked wrestler in Danny Rinaldi. Rinaldi is a beast and is good from all three positions. Ryan wrestled him tough but the difference in the match was a takedown in the first and a crucial reversal in the last period that cost Ryan. 

 Hwt: Derek Pap finished off the dual win w/ a solid 4-0 victory. He did a good job from the top position in this bout but didn't open up as much as we are used to seeing. We are expecting some big points from his this coming weekend. 

Local news highlights link: http://www.nbc29.com/story/16679316/20-uva-wrestling-beats-rutgers-24-12

Here is the link to our official release: http://www.virginiasports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=88771&SPID=10602&ATCLID=205374363&DB_OEM_ID=17800

Here is the link to our facebook interviews: http://www.facebook.com/UVAWrestling?SPSID=88771&SPID=10602&DB_OEM_ID=17800

Steve Garland

Head Wrestling Coach

The University of Virginia

PO Box 400844

Charlottesville, VA 22904-4844

Work: 434-982-5738

Cell: 434-962-0171

Fax: 434-243-7339

www.facebook.com/UVAWrestling

www.virginiawrestlingcamps.com

*Our mission is to armor up to win NCAA Championships and to win in life:  To put on focus, that we may know the goal and understand the costs associated with obtaining it; To take up discipline – both of our minds and our bodies – that we may be no strangers to self-control; And to be fastened with consistency, that we may so eagerly choose and sustain a lifestyle capable of withstanding the doubt, fear, and suffering that will inevitably meet us in the valleys; So that as we scratch and claw our way up the mountain in pursuit of the one and only prize that lies on top, we will stand for excellence. Uncompromised excellence!