No. 7 Hokies dominate in Charlottesville for 14th straight win over the CavaliersNo. 7 Hokies dominate in Charlottesville for 14th straight win over the Cavaliers
Wrestling

No. 7 Hokies dominate in Charlottesville for 14th straight win over the Cavaliers

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – No. 7 Virginia Tech wrestling (9-2, 4-0 ACC) traveled north to flex its muscle against Commonwealth counterpart Virginia (9-7, 1-4 ACC), dominating the Hoos to a 32-7 victory on Friday night.

Tech won eight bouts of the evening with all but two coming by way of bonus points. The win pushed Tech’s win streak to 14 straight and the sixth time in their last ten meetings to tally more than 30 points against the Hoos.

No. 3 Eddie Ventresca (15-2) continues to put his name as a national champion contender with yet another dominant performance. The reigning ACC champion at 125-pounds put on a takedown clinic against Rocco Hayes to the tune of a 20-5 tech fall with 0:21 remaining in the opening bout.

At 133-pounds, freshman phenom No. 6 Aaron Seidel remains undefeated, but even more impressive, maintains his 100% bonus rate. Seidel added to his bonus victory tally with a shutout 15-0 3:54 tech fall over two-time NCAA qualifier Marlon Yarbrough. The Hokie moves to 11-0 with nine tech falls, one fall, and one major decision.

No. 16 Ethen Miller (10-3) came up clutch in a thriller in John Paul Jones at 157-pounds. In a heavy handfighting and multiple exchanged attacks nine minutes of regulation and sudden victory, Miller and Virginia’s Colton Washleski sent the bout to tiebreakers tied at 1. Miller managed to rideout the Hoo but was called for a technical violation to trail 1-2 and needing to manage a point within 0:21 entering his turn in tiebreakers. Miller would get hit for another violation to set him in a 1-3 deficit, but with 0:11 remaining, the Hokie would come up clutch with a reversal and rideout to secure the victory with a mere 0:03 of riding time in his favor. The Hokies would never look back as they would go on to win the next five bouts.

Mac Church (15-7) made his return to the starting lineup at 165-pounds with a 5-1 decision over Michael Murphy in John Paul Jones Arena. Church was aggressor from the opening whistle, constantly putting pressure on Murphy. Church would press for a stall point and then tack on a takedown to go along with an escape for the final score.

It was a clinical performance at 174-pounds for No. 31 Sergio Desiante (16-10) in a 15-4 major decision over former ACC champion No. 27 Nick Hamilton. Desiante scored early and scored often, racking up four takedowns in the first and second period before holding on a frantic Hamilton in the closing period and giving the Hokies another bonus point victory.

A Virginia native put on a display in his home state as No. 32 Jaden Bullock (14-10) flexed his muscle to a 11-2 major decision over Jack Lesher at 184-pounds. In his first taste of the Commonwealth Clash, Bullock racked up an escape, riding time point, and three takedowns including an emphatic nail in the coffin late in the third for the bonus victory.Β 

No. 14 Sonny Sasso (17-5) continues to find his stride with a sound victory over Stephen Burrell, Jr. at 197-pounds. Sasso struck first with a slick low ankle takedown and would never look back – adding another takedown in the second period to go along with an escape, riding time point, and a stall point. The redshirt sophomore pushed his bonus rate to 50% on the season with a 9-1 major decision.

Closing out the show was big man No. 17 Jimmy Mullen (18-5). Mullen took some time in the first before opening with two takedowns in a matter of 0:20 seconds to close out the period with a 6-1 lead over Brenan Morgan. Mullen would then add two more takedowns, an escape, and riding time to claim the 14-6 major decision to put an exclamation point on the evening.

The win gives the Hokies a point in the Commonwealth Clash, presented by Smithfield. The score for the Commonwealth Clash currently is 5.5.-2.5 in favor of Virginia. For more information, visitΒ hokiesports.com/commonwealth-clash.

The Hokies return to action on February 13 at 8 p.m. ET and February 15 at 2 p.m. ET in a big weekend in Cassell Coliseum. Tech hosts No. 13 North Carolina – a win guarantees a back-to-back regular season conference title for the Hokies – on Feb. 13 for Y2K 2000’s inspired night. Then the Hokies will turn their attention to Sunday, Feb. 15 against No. 3 Oklahoma State that has the potential to be filled with fireworks, both squads fielding ten ranked starters. Admission for both duals are free.

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No. 7 Virginia Tech - 32 | Virginia - 7

125 | No. 3 Eddie Ventresca (VT) TECH FALL Rocco Hayes (UVA), 20-5 6:39

133 | No. 6 Aaron Seidel (VT) TECH FALL Marlon Yarbrough (UVA), 15-0 3:54

141 | Drew Gorman (VT) loss via maj dec Gable Porter (UVA), 2-12

149 | No. 6 Collin Gaj (VT) loss via dec Wynton Denkins (UVA), 2-3

157 | No. 16 Ethen Miller (VT) DEC No. 30 Colton Washleski (UVA), 3-3 TB2

165 | Mac Church (VT) DEC Michael Murphy (UVA), 5-1

174 | No. 31 Sergio Desiante (VT) MAJ DEC No. 27 Nick Hamilton (UVA), 15-4

184 | No. 32 Jaden Bullock (VT) MAJ DEC Jack Lesher (UVA), 11-2

197 | No. 14 Sonny Sasso (VT) MAJ DEC Steven Burrell, Jr. (UVA), 9-1

285 | No. 17 Jimmy Mullen (VT) MAJ DEC Brenan Morgan (UVA), 14-6