The 9th-ranked Virginia wrestling team will welcome No. 4 Ohio State for a primetime showdown Monday at John Paul Jones Arena. This top-10 bout will showcase a near-bottomless pool of talent.
The Buckeyes (3-1) are the highest ranked foe the Cavaliers (5-0) have faced since then-No. 4 Iowa downed Virginia 26-12 at the UTC Duals Nov. 16, 2012. Today’s Cavalier squad retains only three starters from that dual — sophomore George DiCamillo and seniors Joe Spisak and Nick Sulzer.
For coach Steve Garland, the decision to invite a national powerhouse to Charlottesville was a simple one. His wrestlers need to be pushed in November to excel in March — and iron sharpens iron.
“Our guys need to be able to test themselves,” Garland said. “We want this dual meet to be a practice for the NCAA tournament. We want our guys to feel the heat as much as possible.”
And Ohio State can certainly bring the heat. The team finished in sixth place at last year’s NCAA tournament. The Buckeye’s greatness is not lost on anyone, and they are one of four teams to garner first place votes in the most recent coaches’ poll.
But the team is not invincible. Ohio State enters Monday’s contest following a loss to No. 10 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The match ended 18-18, but the Hokies earned the upset based on tie-breaking criteria.
Nine of 10 of Ohio State’s starters are ranked in the top-25 of their respective weight classes — and all but three sit in the top-10. The Buckeyes’ starting 10 contains three national championships, five All-American selections and 13 collective trips to the big dance.
A wrestler’s accolades give him no advantage during a match, however — no matter how glamorous they may appear on paper.
“You have to wrestle the guy, not the singlet,” Garland said. “Anyone can lose on any given day which makes it so much fun. Our guys aren’t too shabby either.”
The Cavaliers boast their own All-American in senior Nick Sulzer — a two-time selection at the 165-pound weight class. Including Sulzer, six Virginia wrestlers are ranked among the top-25 of their weight classes.
But injuries threaten to keep two ranked Cavaliers on the bench. Senior Gus Sako — No. 9 at 149 pounds — has yet to step onto the mat this season and Virginia’s 197-pounder, No. 14 junior Zach Nye, did not compete last week due to an apparent knee injury.
Wrestling is a hyper-physical sport, and injuries are a natural part of competition.
“We can’t make the excuse that we’re injured because, frankly, we don’t know how injured our opponents might be,” Garland said. “We’re not where we want to be at the end of the year, but we will be.”
Returning to John Paul Jones Arena should give Virginia an emotional lift, compensating for the team’s ailments. The Cavaliers made history the last time they left the friendly confines of Memorial Gymnasium for JPJ when they defeated then-No. 8 Virginia Tech — the highest-ranked foe Virginia has ever felled — 19-16.
Junior Blaise Butler was pivotal in the victory. He pinned Hokie sophomore Sal Mastriani to put the Cavaliers ahead for good. Butler said he enjoyed his time under the lights and cannot wait to create more highlights.
“Wrestling at John Paul Jones makes our sport a little more fun,” Butler said. “You have to go into your match thinking you’re going to dominate, and then the win will take care of itself. I’m looking for bonus points.”
The fans are an undeniable factor of the big-time feel of John Paul Jones Arena. Virginia students transform the venue into a fortress during men’s basketball season, and Garland would like to see the same happen against Ohio State.
“The fans are going to see top-flight athleticism,” Garland said. “This goes back to the time of the gladiators. I guarantee that anyone who attends this match will be entertained and will become hooked on wrestling.”
The match begins at 7 p.m.
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