In just his second match since returning from injury, redshirt freshman Derek Papagianopoulos will take on No. 5 redshirt sophomore Christian Boley — one of six Terrapins ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight classes — Sunday afternoon. Photo by Thomas Wilson courtesy Virginia Athletics
Fresh off of a pair of resounding ACC wins against Duke and North Carolina, the No. 22 Virginia wrestling team looks to finish its conference schedule on a high note as it welcomes No. 13 Maryland to Charlottesville Sunday afternoon.
Assuming they defeat North Carolina tomorrow night, the Terrapins (12-0, 2-0 ACC) will enter the matchup with an unblemished record and a firm grip on the top spot in the ACC. But the Cavaliers (6-1, 3-1 ACC), who are seeking to extend their conference win streak to four straight matches without an upset, are not backing down from the daunting task of taking on last season’s ACC champion. Redshirt junior Matt Snyder said the Cavaliers hope to use the energy of the home crowd to propel themselves to victory.
“It’s big because they’re a tough team, better on paper than we are,” Snyder said. “But they’re coming here. … So it’d be big if we could surprise them.”
Virginia most recently outscored the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels by a 63-13 margin, and the squad has not lost a duel since Nov. 27, when then-No. 15 Virginia Tech stole an 18-13 nail-biter with a double overtime victory during the final bout.
No. 10 Snyder, a major contributor to Virginia’s success on the mat this season, will aim to set the tone for his teammates during his scheduled matchup against rising Maryland standout, No. 20 sophomore Shane Gentry. Snyder scored a 7-3 decision against Gentry during the semifinal round of last season’s ACC Championships. In Sunday’s rematch between the two technically sound opponents, Snyder expects endurance to play a role in determining which wrestler ultimately emerges triumphant.
“I always start off slow, but I try to keep my conditioning high enough so that by the third period, I’m not really that tired,” Snyder said. “I think that has a lot to do with my success, keeping my conditioning at that high of a level and wearing my opponent down.”
Snyder will not be the only Cavalier with his hands full against the Terrapins, however, as No. 9 redshirt senior Nick Nelson, redshirt freshman Derek Papagianopoulos and No. 19 redshirt freshman Nick Sulzer also anticipate highly-contested matchups.
Papagianopoulos, a heavyweight, will face No. 6 redshirt sophomore Christian Boley — one of six Terrapins ranked in the top 20 of their respective weight classes.
Sulzer, meanwhile, will face the highest-ranked Terrapin, No. 2 junior Josh Asper, in what Virginia coach Steve Garland expects to be a closely-fought showdown. “We feel like [Sulzer’s] so good, [and] we expect so much out of him,” Garland said. “He’s really broken through, not just in competitions, but in practice too. He just looks great.”
But the day may carry more significance for Nelson, who will compete in his final ACC regular season match. Nelson admitted the match would be bittersweet and said he intends to help his team secure its first victory against Maryland in five years.
“I didn’t even know that [Sunday’s match will be the last ACC duel of my career],” Nelson said. “Wow, that hit me a little bit. But I guess it’s just nothing different, just going out and taking care of business — wrestling a hard seven minutes and leaving it out on the mat.”
Nelson and the rest of the Cavaliers are scheduled to take the mat at 1 p.m. Sunday in Memorial Gymnasium.