Hokie ClubPITTSBURGH, Pa. - Three wrestlers took conference titles at the 2015 ACC Wrestling Championship Sunday inside the Petersen Events Center as the Virginia Tech wrestling team placed third at the event. Joey Dance, Devin Carter and Nick Brascetta led the way, rising to the top of the podium with championships at their respective weight classes.
Carter made ACC history in winning the 141-pound title. The win gave him four ACC crowns (two at 133, two at 141), making him just the ninth four-time ACC champion in league history and just the third to do it at multiple weight classes. He opened the tournament with a 16-6 major decision over fourth-seeded Joe Spisak of Virginia and then steamrolled second-seeded Joey Ward of North Carolina in the finals, picking up an 11-3 major decision.
Dance captured his first ACC title with an impressive day at 125 pounds. The sophomore opened the tournament with a third-period pin over fourth-seeded Dom Forys of Pittsburgh and then downed third-seeded Nick Hermann of Virginia 6-2 in the championship bout.
Brascetta took care of business in winning his third ACC title, this year at 157 pounds. He opened the day with a 7-2 win over fourth-seeded Ronnie Garbinsky of Pitt and then rolled past third-seeded Andrew Atkinson of Virginia in the finals, picking up an 11-3 major decision.
Zach Epperly took third place at 174 pounds, going 3-1 on the day. He opened with a major decision before falling in the semifinals, but came back to win a pair of matches in the consolation bracket.
As a team, the Hokies placed third with just 59.5 points.
“We just didn’t get it done today,” said head coach Kevin Dresser. “Some days, you go into the office and you have days like this, but when that happens, you look at the head man and that’s me. I’ll take this one. We’ll go back and look at it and see what we can improve on. I think a lot of our young guys showed their inexperience today and that hurt us, but we also had three champions, which I’m proud of. Having guys like Joey, Devin and Nick in the room will show these guys what they have to do to get to that level. We’ll get this thing corrected before Nationals.”
Dance, Carter, Brascetta and Epperly all qualified automatically for the NCAA Championships while the other six will have to await the at-large selections, which will be announced on Wednesday. The 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships will take place March 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri.
125: #1 seed Joey Dance (2-0; CHAMPION; AUTO QUALIFIER)
First Round: BYE
Semifinals: def. #4 seed Dom Forys (PITT), Fall 5:46
Finals: def. #3 seed Nick Herrmann (VA), 6-2
133: #3 seed Kevin Norstrem (1-2; FOURTH PLACE)
First Round: lost to #6 seed Evan Finesilver (DUKE), 4-3
Consolation Semifinals: def. #4 seed Bryce Meredith (NCSU), 6-4
Third-Place Match: lost to #2 seed Troy Heilmann (NC), 3-2
141: #1 seed Devin Carter (2-0; CHAMPION; AUTO QUALIFIER)
First Round: BYE
Semifinals def. #4 seed Joe Spisak (VA), MD 16-6
Finals: def. #2 seed Joey Ward (NC), MD 11-3
149: #2 seed Sal Mastriani (0-2)
First Round: BYE
Semifinals lost to #3 seed Christian Barber (NC), 6-3 (TB-1)
Consolation Semifinals: lost to #5 seed T.J. Miller (VA), Fall 2:39
157: #1 seed Nick Brascetta (2-0; CHAMPION; AUTO QUALIFIER)
First Round: BYE
Semifinals def. #4 seed Ronnie Garbinsky (PITT), 7-2
Finals: def. #3 seed Andrew Atkinson (VA), MD 13-4
165: #3 seed Chad Strube (0-2)
First Round: def. #6 seed Troy Reaghard (PITT), 5-3
Semifinals: lost to #2 seed Nick Sulzer (VA), MD, 12-2
Consolation Semifinals: lost to #4 seed Jake Faust (DUKE), 4-3
174: #3 seed Zach Epperly (3-1; THIRD PLACE; AUTO QUALIFIER)
First Round: def. #6 seed Trey Adamson (DUKE), MD 16-3
Semifinals: lost to #2 seed Blaise Butler (VA), 8-4
Consolation Semifinals: def. #5 seed Pete Renda (NCSU), 4-2 (SV)
Third-Place Match: def. #4 seed John Michael Staudenmayer (NC), 3-1
184: #6 seed Tae Leary (0-2)
First Round: lost to #3 seed Nicky Hall (NCSU), MD 11-2
Consolation Semifinals: lost to #4 seed Tyler Askey (VA), MD 18-7
197: #3 seed Jared Haught (2-2; FOURTH PLACE)
First Round: def. #6 seed Nick Bonaccorsi (PITT), 3-2
Semifinals: lost to #2 seed Zach Nye (VA), 7-3 (TB-2)
Consolation Semifinals: def. #5 seed Chip Ness (NC), 8-3
Third-Place Match: lost to #6 seed Nick Bonaccorsi (PITT), 3-2 (TB-2)
285: #2 seed Ty Walz (2-1; THIRD PLACE)
First Round: BYE
Semifinals: lost to #3 seed Ryan Solomon (PITT), 3-2
Consolation Semifinals: def. #5 seed Frank Abbondanza (NC), 11-4
Third-Place Match: def. #4 seed Pat Gillen (VA), 12-6