Virginia (0-2) picked up two losses to start the season off against No. 12 Rutgers (3-0) and Kent State (5-0) at the Journeymen Duals in Albany, N.Y. this past weekend, despite some solid individual performances.
The Cavaliers lost by just two points (20-18) to Kent State. The Golden Flashes have had a great start to the season which continued in their face-off against Virginia Saturday.
Down by eight points at the halfway mark, Virginia almost completed a thrilling comeback, with wins from senior Andrew Atkinson, junior Will Schany and redshirt freshman Jay Aiello. Schany and Atkinson exhibited the most dominant performances of the day for the Cavaliers, winning both of their duals.
A loss in the heavyweight matchup ended the comeback, spelling defeat for Virginia against Kent State.
The second and final clash against Rutgers didn’t go much better for the Cavaliers, who fell behind early against a dominant Scarlet Knights team.
Rutgers sophomore Nick Suriano, ranked second nationally, helped the Scarlet Knights to an early lead. Rutgers did not look back and beat the Cavaliers, 21-9.
Virginia will look to get back on track at their first home match of the season Friday against Gardner-Webb. Action begins from the Aquatic and Fitness Center at 7 p.m.
