Hokie ClubBETHLEHEM, Pa. – The fifth-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling team earned a hard fought victory on Friday evening as the Hokies (14-1, 3-0 ACC) got by No. 10 Lehigh, 21-15, in front of hostile crowd of 1,599 at Leeman-Turner Arena.
Despite two losses from two of its highest-ranked wrestlers, the Hokies clawed their way to victory ahead of their ACC dual at 4 p.m. with Duke on Sunday at the Moss Arts Center. Tech is now 1-1 against top 10 teams this season and 4-1 overall against opponents ranked in the top 25. Redshirt senior Ty Walz picked up his 100th career victory over No. 16 Doug Vollaro at 285 pounds, becoming the 11th wrestler and the first heavyweight in program history to accomplish the feat.
“I have some really mixed feelings right now but overall we struggled tonight,” said head coach Kevin Dresser. “As a coach, I always learn a lot more about a team when things don't go our way. I will be interested to see how some individuals bounce back. This might make us better at the end of the year."
The Mountain Hawks (8-3, 4-1 EIWA) struck first in the match as No. 8 Darian Cruz handed senior Joey Dance his first loss of the season with a 4-2 decision at 125 pounds. Redshirt junior Dennis Gustafson continued his string of recent strong performances at 133 with a 4-0 decision that tied the dual up at 3-3.
After Lehigh picked up a pin at 141 pounds, redshirt sophomore Solomon Chisko, wrestling in his first match in a week since overcoming stomach pains, returned to form with a 3-1 win in sudden victory OT. The two grapplers had only scored two combined points through three periods before Chishko grabbed a single leg and picked up the clinching takedown. Momentum carried over to 157 where redshirt senior Sal Mastriani registered a 13-7 decision that gave the Hokies a 9-6 lead.
Senior David Bergida battled with No. 13 Mitch Minotti at 165 by picking up a takedown with just under a minute left but he couldn’t capitalize. With the score now tied at 9-9, two top five wrestlers battled it out at 174 pounds with No. 5 Ryan Preisch coming out on top with a 3-1 win in sudden victory OT, handing redshirt junior Zach Epperly his first loss of the season.
The rest of the Tech upperweights stepped up though as redshirt sophomore Zack Zavatsky won a 9-3 decision and redshirt junior Jared Haight racked up six points by injury default. Walz showed again why he’s one of the top scoring heavyweights in the country as he nearly picked up a major but came away with a 12-5 decision over Vollaro.
No. 5 Hokies 21, No. 10 Lehigh 15
125: No. 8 Darian Cruz (LEH) dec. No. 2 Joey Dance (VT), 4-2
133: Dennis Gustafson (VT) dec. Joe Lobeck (LEH), 4-0
141: No. 11 Randy Cruz (LEH) FALL Brendan Ryan (VT), 0:37
149: No. 7 Solomon Chishko dec. (VT) No. 11 Laike Gardner (LEH), 3-1 (SV)
157: No. 14 Sal Mastriani (VT) dec. Kent Lane (LEH), 13-7
165: No. 13 Mitch Minotti (LEH) dec. David Bergida (VT), 9-6
174: No. 5 Ryan Preisch (LEH) dec. No. 2 Zach Epperly (VT), 3-1 (SV)
184: No. 4 Zack Zavatsky dec. (VT) Andrew Prince (LEH), 9-3
197: No. 3 Jared Haught (VT) DEF. Ben Haas (LEH) (injury default)
285: No. 3 Ty Walz (VT) dec. No. 16 Doug Vollaro (LEH), 12-5