Wrestling
What: Virginia wrestling attends Cliff Keen Invitational
Where: Las Vegas, Nev.
When: Friday-Saturday
The Skinny: After picking up two losses to start the season, Virginia (1-3) has bounced back in a big way, with two promising performances at home against solid opponents. At the Cliff Keen Invitational, perhaps the toughest collegiate wrestling tournament in the country, the Cavaliers’ young talent will face yet another test.
Virginia picked up its first victory in dominant fashion at home against Gardner-Webb, and then lost a close one to No. 4 Missouri this past Sunday. In a match that came down to the final bout, bonus point victories were key. This time, however, it was the Tigers, and not the Cavaliers, coming up with critical bonus point victories.
Regardless, the Cavaliers put up a valiant effort against nationally-ranked Missouri, and should be brimming with confidence as they go into tournament play this weekend. Their gritty performance this weekend was awarded with a vote in the Coaches Poll released Monday.
Virginia’s deadly duo of nationally-ranked young wrestlers, Louie Hayes and Jack Mueller, was critical in the Cavaliers effort against Missouri, and will be equally important this weekend.
This weekend, 30 of the nation’s best collegiate wrestling teams, including nine top-20 teams, converge to vie for a title.
Upstart Virginia will be one of the teams in contention. Round 1 action begins at 9 a.m. Friday.
— compiled by Zach Zamoff
Squash
What: Virginia vs. Cornell, Columbia
When: 2 p.m. Saturday vs. Columbia, 6 p.m. Saturday vs. Cornell
Where: Belkin Squash Courts, Ithaca, N.Y.
The Skinny:
Both the Virginia men and women’s squash teams travel to New York to face Cornell and Columbia Saturday. Both teams will be looking to rebound after dropping their matches to George Washington this Tuesday.
The No. 17 men (3-3) have struggled thus far against higher-ranked opponents, but Saturday will provide them two more opportunities to get signature wins. No. 4 Columbia (3-0) is undefeated to start the year, while No. 13 Cornell went 2-1 in the Williams Round Robin to start the year. The Cavalier men are coming off a 6-3 loss against George Washington.
The No. 13 Cavalier women (2-3) will face No. 7 Columbia (3-0) and No. 8 Cornell (2-0). This will mark seven straight matches against top-20 opponents. Like the men’s team, the women have yet to pull out a victory against a higher-ranked team, which makes Saturday just as important for them. They will look to get back into the win column and end their current three-game losing streak.
Both teams start their day at 2 p.m. facing Columbia.
— compiled by Charlie Lotane
Swim and Dive
What: University of Georgia Fall Invite
Where: Gabrielsen Natatorium, Athens, Ga.
When: Friday-Sunday
The Skinny: The Virginia swim and dive teams will travel to Athens, Ga. this weekend to compete against several higher-ranked teams in the University of Georgia Fall Invite.
The No. 23 Cavalier men (5-1) will compete against No. 2 California (2-0), No. 4 Michigan (5-0), No. 10 Auburn (3-0), No. 12 Georgia (5-1) and divers from Harvard (3-0).
The No. 16 Cavalier women (6-0) will face No. 4 Michigan (5-0), No. 5 Georgia (6-0), No. 6 California (4-0), and divers from No. 25 UCLA (4-3) as well as Harvard (2-0).
Virginia’s swimmers last competed Nov. 10-11 at home. The men’s team defeated Princeton (3-2), 255-109 but fell to No. 17 Louisville (2-3), 197.5-166.5. The women’s team beat both Princeton (4-2) 302-68, and No. 10 Louisville (1-4) 224-146.
Virginia also sent divers to compete at the Frank Elm Invitational at Rutgers Nov. 17-19 where Junior Kylie Towbin won the women’s platform dive event.
Preliminary heats will begin at Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium 9:30 a.m. each day, with finals at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday.
— compiled by Colin Cantwell
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