Hokie ClubNEW YORK CITY – The Hokies sit in third place with 82 points after the final morning session of the 2016 NCAA National Championship with only the finals remaining. After setting a new program record with six All-Americans, Tech is seeking its highest ever Nationals finish, looking to top the previous best of eighth in 2014. The Hokies have guaranteed themselves a fourth-straight top-10 finish.
Two Hokies took home third place, redshirt senior Nick Brascetta and redshirt sophomore Zach Epperly. In his fourth trip to the championship, Nick Brascetta opened the day with a 7-4 decision over Chad Walsh of Rider to advance to the third place bout. Eighth-seeded Brascetta downed the fifth seed Dylan Palacio of Cornell, 4-1, to take home third. Brascetta becomes the second three-time All-American in program history and made four appearances at the NCAA Championship in his career, leaving Virginia Tech with a 67-18 record.
Epperly rattled off six straight wins after losing in the first round to advance to the third place match. After dispatching Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State for the second time this season, Epperly avenged a first round loss to Casey Kent of Penn with an 8-4 victory in the final bout. Epperly is making his second appearance on the NCAA podium, after finishing seventh last year, and earned his second All-American honors in as many years.
After defeating Austin Marsden of Oklahoma State 9-4, Ty Walz fell in sudden victory overtime to Adam Coon in the third place match. Walz bettered last year’s seventh place finish and earned his second All-American honors.
All six Hokies that advanced to Saturday’s action finished in the top six in their weight class, with Solomon Chishko, Jared Haught and David McFadden all taking sixth place. Of the six All-Americans from this year, five will be returning to next year’s squad.
The finals will start at 8 p.m. tonight and will be broadcast on ESPN. The Hokies will learn their final team rank after tonight’s matches.
SATURDAY MORNING’S RESULTS AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
125: #2 seed Joey Dance
First Round: def. Alfredo Rodriguez (SIUE), 8-2
Second Round: lost to #15 seed David Terao (American), 5-3
Consolations: lost to. Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion), 4-3
141: #7 seed Solomon Chishko – SIXTH PLACE
First Round: def. Mike Pongracz (UTC),9-3
Second Round: def. Logan Everett (Army), TF 16-1
Quarterfinals: lost to seed Joey McKenna (Stanford), 6-1
Consolations: def. Seth Gross (SDSU), 10-3
Consolations: def. Randy Cruz (Lehigh), 7-0
Consolations: lost to. #4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers), MD 11-3
Fifth Place Match: lost to Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 5-3
157: #8 seed Nick Brascetta – THIRD PLACE
First Round: def. Russell Parsons (Army), 9-4
Second Round: def. #9 seed Richie Lewis (Rutgers), 7-6
Quarterfinals: lost to #1 seed Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), 6-3
Consolations: def. Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 3-2.
Consolations: def. Thomas Gantt (NC State), 8-4
Consolations: def. #15 Chad Walsh (Rider), 7-4
Third Place Match: def. #5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell), 4-1
165: #14 seed David McFadden – SIXTH PLACE
First Round: def. Cooper Moore (UNI), fall 4:44
Second Round: lost to #3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 8-3
Consolations: def. Casey Fuller (Edinboro), 3-1
Consolations: def. Geno Morelli (Penn State), MD 13-3
Consolations: def. Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), 6-2
Consolations: def. Anthony Perotti (Rutgers), MD 10-2
Consolations: lost to. #3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 8-2
Fifth Place Match: lost to #6 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), 8-5
174: #8 seed Zach Epperly – THIRD PLACE
First Round: lost to Casey Kent (Penn), 3-2
Consolations: def. Rustin Barrick (Bucknell), TF 17-2
Consolations: def. #10 seed Michael Ottinger (Central Michigan), MD 17-6
Consolations: def. Brian Harvey (Army), MD 14-4
Consolations: def. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), medical forfeit
Consolations: def. Alex Meyer (Iowa), MD 10-2
Consolations: def. Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State), MD 13-5
Third Place Match: def. Casey Kent (Penn), 8-4
184: #5 seed Zack Zavatsky
First Round: def. Andrew Romanchik (Ohio), 9-3
Second Round: def. Hayden Zillmer (NDSU), 3-1
Quarterfinals: lost to. #13 Pete Renda (NC State) , 4-3
Consolations: lost to #10 Nate Brown (Lehigh) – 2-1
197: #6 seed Jared Haught – SIXTH PLACE
First Round: def. Sam Wheeler (CSU), 6-2
Second Round: lost to Patrick Downey (ISU), fall 8:45
Consolations: def. Chip Ness (UNC), 5-1
Consolations: def. #14 Zach Nye (UVA), 2-1
Consolations: def. #8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) , 5-4
Consolations: def. Conner Hartmann (Duke), 5-2
Consolations: lost to. #3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), MD 13-4
Fifth Place Match: lost to Patrick Downey (ISU), fall 3:48
285: #3 seed Ty Walz
First Round: def. Tanner Hall (ASU), 5-2
Second Round: def. Joseph Goodhart (Drexel), MD 16-5
Quarterfinals: def. Brooks Black (Illinois), 4-1
Semifinals: lost to. #2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), 10-6
Consolations: def. #4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State), 9-4
Third Place Match: lost to #5 Adam Coon (Michigan), fall 7:57