Year: Second

School: College of Arts and Sciences

Major: Spanish and Foreign Affairs

Hometown: Bethesda, MD

Sexual Orientation: Straight

UVa Involvement and Activities: Madison House’s Migrant and Latino Aid, Jewish Leadership Council, Chi Omega’s Philanthropy (Make-A-Wish Foundation)

Hobbies: I love to ski, cook, read and watch Spanish telenovelas

Ideal Date Person (Physical Attributes and Personality): Tall, dark hair and eyes. Absolutely hilarious, fun, free-thinking

Ideal Date (Activity): Dinner sitting outside, people watching, good food and great conversation.

Ideal Celebrity: Ryan Gosling’s swagger and looks plus Javier Bardem’s Spanish accent.

Deal Breaker: Smoking

Describe a typical weekend: Running errands, working out, a lil’ homework and going out with pals

Brag about yourself – what makes you a good catch? I’m spunky, smart, and can carry a conversation with almost anyone.

Describe yourself in one sentence: I’m a tall, funny girl who rambles in Spanish and wants to travel the world.

Bryan Graney

Year: Second

School: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Major: Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Sexual Orientation: Straight

UVa Involvement and Activities: Cavalier Marching Band, Residence Life

Hobbies: Golf, Aviation, Music, Biking

Ideal Date Person (Physical Attributes and Personality): Fun, Smart, Medium Height

Ideal Date (Activity): Dinner and walk around grounds

Ideal Celebrity: Emma Watson

Deal Breaker: Texting during the date

Describe a typical weekend: Hanging out with friends, going to a sporting event and catching up on work.

Brag about yourself – what makes you a good catch? I like to meet new people.

Describe yourself in one sentence: Fun, smart, confident guy.

Date: Saturday, Feb. 4

Time: 5 p.m.

Place: Basil

Eleanor: I filled out the Love Connection survey because one of my roommates, Meghan, suggested I do it. She typed it for me and I passively was like, “Yeah, whatever.” Even if it’s a joke, it’ll make a great story. I’d never been on a blind date, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I grab dinner with my guy friends sometimes, so I figured it’d be just like chatting with one of my buds. Plus, free food!

Bryan: I filled out the survey because some people who live in my dorm encouraged me to sign up. I thought it was one of those cool U.Va. traditions you have to do before you graduate. Plus it’s free food, and you get to meet people. I’d never been on a blind date and didn’t have any expectations. I just went into it with a chill attitude, as if I was just meeting someone new.

Eleanor: Before the date, I was talking to my roommates and threw out that my date’s name was Bryan. We all laughed because my friend Meghan said the only Bryan she knew at U.Va. was her ex-boyfriend, and she pulled up a picture of him. When I was walking up and saw that it was that Bryan, I started to laugh to myself.

Bryan: I was standing outside of Starbucks when she approached me and asked if I was Bryan. I said, “You must be Eleanor, it’s nice to meet you.” It was obvious that we were looking for each other. She seemed easy to talk to, and it seemed like we have sort of similar personalities.

Eleanor: He seemed very friendly and gracious and kind, but the whole premise of the fact that he’s my roommate’s ex-boyfriend made it a little weird. I was thinking about how I was going to approach [the fact that I live with his ex-girlfriend]; I wanted to craft it in a way so that he wouldn’t feel awkward.

Bryan: The conversation was flowing the whole time. First we talked about where to go for dinner; I said she could decide because I can be indecisive. She suggested Basil, and I was all for it. Eventually we got to talking about our year, major, her sorority, Res Life, marching band, her trip to Israel over winter break and studying abroad. I thought it was cool because she has a completely different major. She’s more into the artsy stuff and I’m an engineer, but we could relate to each other’s stories even though we didn’t have activities in common.

Eleanor: We have very different academic interests, and I was curious to hear more about his major, which is mechanical and aerospace engineering. I was actually able to talk about it a little because it’s the same thing Meghan does and I’ve heard about it from her. The conversation was balanced; he was really sweet about asking me about my background. I’m a big talker, so my friends had told not to talk too much.

Bryan: The conversation was pretty 50/50. She was a really good conversationalist, and I didn’t notice she was talking a lot. It was definitely more of a friend thing, though.

Eleanor: There was just a little awkwardness stemming from the fact that I knew so much about him from Meghan and was trying to weave it into what we were talking about. I tried to bring up the fact that I’m best friends with Meghan by asking him where he was from. When he told me where he went to high school, that’s when I brought it up.

Bryan: I told her that Meghan and I had gone to high school together, and I was just like, “Okay, that’s weird,” but I continued as if it was a regular date. Let’s just say it was a weird coincidence. She had to meet up with her sorority for boys’ bid night, so I walked her over to GrandMarc. We hugged, and then I left.

Eleanor: He was very nice about walking me to GrandMarc and making sure I got in. There might’ve been a hug, but it was more like, “Hey, nice meeting you.” I’d definitely say hi if I saw him around. He was really nice to have gotten to know.

Bryan: As a blind date, I’d give it an 8. The conversation flowed from beginning to end, and she was easy to talk to. I think the blind date concept is interesting, and I’d go on another one.

Eleanor: I’d give it a 6 only because I felt like I knew a lot about him before having met him. That made me feel a little uncomfortable, but it’s not any fault of his own. He was very nice and easy to get to know. Since this wasn’t really a blind date, I’d love to go on one again. I’d definitely do it again and hope that he wasn’t one of my roommate’s ex-boyfriends from high school.

Eleanor and Bryan are now Facebook friends and both looking forward to their next blind dates — although they probably won’t let us set them up again.

Virginia (19-4, 6-3 ACC) comes off a decisive 68-44 win against Wake Forest at home Wednesday. Senior forward Mike Scott was perfect from the field, shooting 9-of-9 on the night with 19 points and five rebounds. Five Cavaliers scored in double figures.

Virginia supplemented its hot offensive performance by showing the same stellar defensive effort which has been a trademark of the Cavaliers’ winning formula all season. Virginia ranks second in the country after Tuesday’s game with an average of 51.4 points allowed per game. That statistic trails only Wisconsin’s 49.8 points per game benchmark. Only four opponents have attained the 60-point mark against the Cavaliers during the first 23 games.

“I thought we made it difficult for [Wake Forest] to get in the paint,” senior guard Sammy Zeglinski said. “We did a good job closing out shooters. It definitely was tough on them. I think it tired them out to go through 30 seconds on the shot clock before they could get a shot.”

North Carolina (20-4, 7-2 ACC) comes off arguably its most painful loss of the season. Wednesday evening a last-second three-pointer by freshman guard Austin Rivers shocked the Tar Heel faithful as No. 10 Duke stunned the Tar Heels on their home court, 85-84.

With disappointment still fresh in their minds, the Tar Heels will attempt to recover from their first loss of the season at the Dean Smith Center where previously this season they were 14-0.

Virginia, on the other hand, enters the game hoping to hand North Carolina a second consecutive loss.

“It’s a huge game for us and we’re excited to go down [to Chapel Hill],” sophomore guard Joe Harris said. “We have a huge challenge ahead of us.”

Beating North Carolina, which ranks first nationally in points per game as well as rebounds per game, will be a tall task for Virginia. The Tar Heels’ high-powered offense is led by sophomore forward Harrison Barnes, whose average of 17.7 points per game places him second in the ACC scoring race behind Maryland sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin. North Carolina play-making sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall leads the ACC with 9.8 assists per game and a 3.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

While North Carolina generates many of its points in the open court, the Tar Heels also possess a potent tandem in the post with senior forward Tyler Zeller and junior forward John Henson. The 7-foot Zeller and 6-foot-11 Henson combine for an average of 29.8 points, 20 rebounds per game and 108 total blocks.

The Cavaliers believe they will face a tough battle against a Tar Heel team which is solid at both ends of the court.

“I remember both [Henson and Zeller] being long,” Scott said. “[They] like to run and get out [and they’re] very good defensive players so it’s going to be a battle … North Carolina’s so good.”

Virginia is past the midway point of its ACC schedule with the road only getting harder as the team approaches postseason play. The Cavaliers must play the Tar Heels twice, with the second game of the home-and-home series set for Feb. 25 in Charlottesville.

The Cavaliers must be on their game every night from now until their final regular season game in early March if they hope to fulfill preseason predictions declaring the Cavaliers as the fourth-best team in the conference.

“In this league, you better be ready,” coach Tony Bennett said. “I understand BC beat Florida State so, again, every game is tough. Going to North Carolina and teams coming up, we know what we have to do and we’ll try to execute to the best of our abilities. They’re great opportunities for us.”

The Cavaliers also face Virginia Tech and Florida State, two teams which have already defeated Virginia this season.

A win Saturday would help Virginia keep pace with Duke, North Carolina and Florida State, who are all tied atop the ACC with matching 7-2 records.

“We’re excited for the challenge, and we’re going to need everybody to contribute,” Harris said.

The game is slated for tip-off at 1 p.m.

Blackwell described entering the apartment and being directed to the bedroom, where he saw Love’s body lying on the ground “unconscious” and “unresponsive.”

After he determined Love was not breathing, Blackwell began administering CPR until the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad arrived.

Three emergency medical technicians spoke yesterday about their attempts to resuscitate Love that night. Resuscitation efforts lasted 24 minutes and included “several rounds of CPR,” medication and intubation, Rescue Squad member Michael Hanshew said.

By the time the EMTs left, the apartment had been declared a crime scene.

Both police officers and medical responders testified there was a hole in the door to Love’s bedroom.

Testimony included reference to photos of the scene. Charlottesville Police Det. Sgt. Shawn Bayles said the “huge hole in the door” made him concerned about a possible crime. When he received the original dispatch, “I was expecting to find no damage,” he told the court.

He told the rescue squad to continue their work but explained they were “now in an active crime scene,” he said.

Yesterday’s proceedings also focused on medical details, crucial to the defense’s theory that Love died from something other than blunt force trauma, including complications from Adderall consumption. The defense also contends that Love’s visible injuries may have been the result of CPR.

The prosecution introduced Medical School Prof. William J. Brady as an expert in emergency medicine and CPR. Referring to photos from the scene, he confirmed that rescue squad members correctly administered CPR the night of Love’s death.

He also noted the chance of resuscitation is “quite small” for patients who are “flat-lining.” The chance of survival is less than two percent, he said.

The prosecution also called Dr. Danny Mistry, who served as the primary care physician for all University athletes while Love was at the University.

He explained that in the past, the University performed electrocardiograms (EKGS) on student athletes using Adderall. Love was screened three times — when she first entered the University in fall 2006, while on Adderall in May 2009 and while off the medication in Sept. 2009. Mistry said the EKGs showed nothing out of the ordinary and found no electrical abnormalities in Love’s heart function.

Testimonies also addressed Huguely and Love’s troubled relationship in the months leading up to her death.

Former North Carolina lacrosse player Mike Burns recounted opening the door to Huguely’s bedroom at a February 2010 party after “[hearing] a girl saying, ‘Help me, help me!’” He said he found Huguely with his arm around Love’s neck, while she struggled to escape. Huguely released her after the door opened, and Love got up and ran out of the room, he said. Love told Burns she couldn’t breathe and was “hysterically crying,” he said.

During the defense’s cross examination, Burns also admitted to “hooking up” with Love occasionally between summer 2008 and April 2009.

Huguely’s friend and former teammate Tim Fuchs also spoke yesterday, recounting the night he and Huguely returned to Huguely’s apartment with two female high school seniors. He said Love came into the apartment that night and yelled at Huguely. She was “upset that we were up there with these two girls,” Fuchs said.

Former University lacrosse player Brian Carroll, a 2010 graduate, said Huguely’s drinking had begun to increasingly concern their group of friends that spring. Huguely would drink three to four nights a week, Carroll said, and would become intoxicated each time. Carroll said Huguely was “significantly” drunk — badly slurring his words and unable to hold a conversation — when Carroll saw him on the afternoon of May 2, 2010, the day before Love died.

The committee selected next year’s Lawn residents based on academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, demonstrated commitment to further involvement in the University community and an appreciation of the opportunities and responsibilities of living on the Lawn, as well as the ideals of the Lawn community, Head Lawn Resident Reedy Swanson said.

Residents of seven endowed Lawn rooms, five of which are reserved for members of prominent organizations on Grounds, have not yet been announced. Residence Life, the Honor Committee, the Trigon Engineering Society, the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society and Kappa Sigma fraternity have endowed rooms, according to the Office of the Dean of Students’ Lawn application website.

An ad hoc committee selects the resident of Room 15 West, known as the Gus Blagden Memorial Room or the “Good Guy” room, according to the website. Candidates for this room do not need to apply using the regular Lawn selection process.

Room 1 West, the John K. Crispell Memorial Room, is assigned to an outstanding pre-health student, chosen from Lawn applicants who accept offers from the Selection Committee.

“Since [selecting the endowed-room residents] usually includes drawing at least a couple of students from the waiting list, we don’t release the information until the final Lawn Community has been selected,” University Housing’s Director of Accommodations John Evans said.

Third-year Commerce student Charlie Miller, one of those selected for a Lawn room, said he applied to live on the Lawn because he loves Thomas Jefferson’s ideal of the Academical Village.

“The Lawn is what makes U.Va. special,” Miller said. “It needs to be a place where people come and meet and form the community of U.Va.”

Swanson said the sense of community the Lawn creates is a central element in Jefferson’s vision of the Academical Village.

“The Lawn is a way to bring together 54 of our most remarkable students for their final year and to give them a chance to form collaborative relationships that can be really beneficial to the University community,” Swanson said. “It’s something that really sets us apart from other schools. It’s probably the most beautiful place I might ever live, but more important are the relationships I’ve had the opportunity to form.”

Complete information about Lawn residents is never officially released, Swanson said in an email, but occupants of endowed rooms are usually selected by mid-March.

“What’s been going on for the past four weeks of the session is that Republicans are overreaching — the focus is on controversial extreme legislation and not [on jobs],” according to the press release. “So today we need to focus on what actually matters to Virginia.”

Republican bills discussed included a repeal of Virginia’s one-handgun-a-month law, as well as a bill which would require women to get an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion.

Del. Mark Sickles, D-Franconia, said people could use more lax Virginia gun laws to purchase firearms and transport them to other states.

“They are repealing [the handgun law] completely, which we think will increase the probability of massive gun sales in Virginia to be resold in the northeast,” Sickles said. ”That’s the way it used to be: Trips were made to Virginia and stockpiles of guns were purchased here, and they ended up on the streets of New York.”

Sickles expressed concern about voting along partisan lines on Crossover Day Feb. 14, when Senate bills will be sent to the House and House bills to the Senate.

Democrats no longer have control of the state Senate, Sickles said, “where a lot of these far-right social bills had gone to die in the last several years.”

The study aims to analyze the AccessUVa structure and the program’s finances to create the best model to achieve the University’s objectives.

The Board’s ad hoc committee in charge of the review hired a consultant from the Arts & Science Group to assist with the analysis.

“The challenge for the consultants will be to balance the University’s two competing priorities: the desire to attract and retain a diverse and high-quality student body, and the need to optimize the use of scarce unrestricted resources,” University spokesperson Carol Wood said in an email.

AccessUVa personnel are currently working to provide strong aid packages in light of the University’s shrinking pool of available funds. The Board’s ad hoc committee assesses the situation by surveying students who expressed interest in the University, those who apply and those who matriculate to determine the different factors which contribute to a student’s college decisions, Wood said.

Since its creation in February 2004, AccessUVa’s budget has grown from about $9 million to about $41 million. While state funding has remained the same, per capita funding has declined, said Christopher Doran, communications manager of Student Financial Services.

“In [the] 2010-11 academic year, 4,702 students (32.8 percent) demonstrated financial need and the average aid package was $17,932,” Wood said. “The program’s total cost ran to more than $92 million in the current academic year, with institutional funds now covering about $38.3 million — more than double the original expenditures.”

As a result of the growth of AccessUVa, the University’s Student Financial Services is currently streamlining the process for AccessUVa applications.

“The cost of that process [is] growing and we’re finding that it’s very important for us to know early on in the year what our expenditure is likely to be,” Student Financial Services Director Yvonne Hubbard said. “We have a commitment from the board to fund everyone who applies by the deadline. After the deadline there might not be funds available.”

Student Financial Services has introduced an April 30 deadline this year for students applying for an AccessUVa Grant, Federal Work Study, a Perkins Loan, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), need-based endowment funds and state need-based grants.

“[T]he impact to the regular student who completes all required application and document materials and has them to us by April 30, 2012, is zero,” Doran said.

“I feel good about where we are at this point in the season,” coach Joanne Boyle said. “Do we have a little weary legs? Yes. But as a whole, we’re in great condition, and if we give them a day off here or there, we’ll be good … I’ve had teams that start to drag later in the season, but I think our momentum is carrying us upwards.”

Though their games against ACC opponents have produced mixed results, the Cavaliers performed well at some points during their two most recent victories. Three Cavaliers scored double-digit points last Sunday against NC State, and the team netted 22 points off of 25 Wolfpack turnovers. Junior guard Lexie Gerson leads the Cavaliers with 82 steals for the season.

Though opponents have found weaknesses in the interior of Virginia’s zone defense, the Cavaliers’ defensive strategy has been a major factor in creating a conference-leading turnover margin of plus-8.8 turnovers per game.

“As long as we’re getting deflections and transition [in the zone] that’s good,” senior guard Ariana Moorer said. “Obviously there are times when teams are going to pick you apart a little bit inside.”

Virginia’s effort on the defensive end led to similar results in a Jan. 29 victory against Florida State when the Cavaliers scored 28 points off of 23 forced turnovers and out-rebounded the Seminoles 36-34, a positive sign given the team’s season-long rebounding struggles. Senior forward Chelsea Shine led the team with six boards in that game and has a team-best 150 on the season.

“We need our posts to step up,” Boyle said after the Florida State game. “We can’t rely just on our guards for scoring, and in the zone they were hiding a little bit. To me, what Chelsea really brought was getting her hands on loose balls to give us second chance opportunities. Four or five times she saved and gave us back possession, and that is what we need from our posts day in and day out.”

Sunday’s game will be the second time this season the Cavaliers challenge the Tigers (6-16, 2-9 ACC). The first contest resulted in a 54-47 Virginia victory as the Cavaliers picked up their first ACC win of the year Jan. 8. Virginia trailed the Tigers 25-23 at halftime but pulled ahead early in the second half and steadily gained separation from the Tigers the rest of the way. Shine led the team, scoring 13 points, followed by junior center Simone Egwu, who notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Since the loss to Virginia, Clemson has gone 2-6, but did manage to pull off a stunning upset of No. 22 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The Tigers, however, suffered a crushing loss to Maryland last night, 91-61. Clemson’s only other conference win came against ACC bottom dweller Virginia Tech. The Tigers rank next to last in the conference in both scoring offense and turnover margin, two weaknesses which bode well for the Cavaliers, who are also second in the conference in scoring defense, sporting a stingy 53.6 points allowed per game.

The Clemson match-up also marks the third annual “Pink Zone” game, where the Cavaliers promote breast cancer awareness. The Cavaliers will dress in pink uniforms, and fans are encouraged to wear pink as well.

A Virginia win would put the team at .500 in the conference and keep alive the team’s faint hopes of earning one of four first-round byes in the ACC tournament. “Every game is important, but we’re just gonna come out and play Virginia basketball, and hopefully the results will follow,” Gerson said.

Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena.

After crushing Boston College Sunday, the Cavaliers (5-0, 2-0 ACC) look to build on the confidence gained from those wins as they take on No. 12 Northwestern in the first round today. The Cavaliers have already beaten four nationally ranked teams this season. Those triumphs include wins against fellow National Team Indoors contenders Texas and Tennessee.

The Cavaliers have started strong in all aspects this season and come into the weekend after three consecutive 7-0 victories, including a pair against ACC rivals Boston College and Virginia Tech.

Virginia’s opponents failed to take a set from them in each of those matches, and the team is beginning to feel the momentum building behind them.

“Momentum is a great thing, but it’ll be another step up in competition this weekend,” coach Mark Guilbeau said. “It’s nothing but exciting, and a great challenge for our kids.”

The focus now shifts to Northwestern (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten), a team expected to test Virginia’s winning streak. The Wildcats come into the weekend off a tough loss to No. 3 Duke but have otherwise been strong, even scoring an upset against No. 8 North Carolina during the same trip.

No. 26 Northwestern singles player junior Kate Turvy — who helped her team earn consecutive National Indoors titles in 2009 and 2010 — is 4-1 this season and leads the team at first singles. Not to be outdone, No. 29 Virginia senior Emily Fraser sports her own undefeated record on the top singles court including a commanding 6-2, 6-1 victory in her last outing against Boston College freshman Jessica Wacnik.

The Cavaliers surprised the Wildcats with a 4-0 victory on the final day of last year’s National Indoors, and Guilbeau is doing his best to make sure history repeats itself.

“I’ve been on the computer checking out my scouting reports from last year, from right after the matches,” Guilbeau said.

Guilbeau said Virginia can topple Northwestern for a second consecutive year by tinkering with match-ups and focusing on what worked and what did not. The tournament’s fixed lineups mean no surprises await in the match-ups each player will see.

“You start preparing your players for those specific game styles and really impose your strengths on their weaknesses,” Guilbeau said. “Not all kids buy into that right away, but this team is really buying in and applying it.”

The team knows Northwestern will be out for revenge after last year’s defeat and, as the seventh seed in the tournament, the Cavaliers will have bigger targets on their backs than last year.

“We’re getting ready for a battle,” senior Lindsey Hardenbergh said. “We know they’re going to be ready for us, and [they] want to beat us as much as we want to beat them. I feel really confident, and we’re a much better team than we were last year.”

With a win, the Cavaliers would advance to play either ACC rival No. 13 Georgia Tech or second-seeded No. 4 UCLA, and the players are confident they have what it takes to make a deep run in the tournament.

“This is the strongest team we’ve had,” Hardenbergh said. “We work the hardest day in and day out. I have the full confidence that we’ll continue playing at our best ability.”
The action starts with a pair of matches at 9 a.m. today and continues until the championship game Monday. The Cavaliers take the court at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Boar’s Head Sports Complex.

The last time Virginia (8-1, 4-1 ACC) took to the mat, the Cavaliers defeated a scrappy Rutgers squad 24-12 even while wrestling without two of their nationally ranked stalwarts, No. 11 redshirt junior Matt Snyder and No. 20 redshirt senior Matt Nelson.

“It was a really rough week for us and I just can’t believe how these guys responded,” Virginia coach Steve Garland said. “Our back was against the wall … we were wrestling a team that’s been ranked in the top-15 at different times, and my kids — whenever they face adversity — they always respond.”

Virginia, without a viable replacement for Snyder, forfeited the 125-pound weight class against Rutgers while freshman Joseph Martinez held down the 133-pound weight class in Nelson’s absence, earning a 7-5 win against Rutgers redshirt junior Joe Langel.

Sophomore Gus Sako, however, was the story of the day, as he upset then-No. 5 redshirt junior Mario Mason 5-3 at the 149-pound weight class. Sako’s win brought the Memorial Gym crowd to its feet and gave Virginia a 9-6 lead the squad would not give back.

“It was awesome seeing the crowd go nuts,” Sako said. “If I can put the team on my back and get a couple big wins like that, that’s perfect for me. I work best under that pressure, and I enjoy it.”

Sako’s upset win earned the 149-pounder his first-ever ACC Wrestler of the Week title, marking the second consecutive week the ACC has recognized a Cavalier matman. Jedd Moore previously achieved the feat following his 5-3 decision against then-No.11 senior Kyle John of Maryland.

Virginia’s other upset against Rutgers came two matches later at the 165-pound weight class where No. 17 redshirt freshman Nick Sulzer scored a 5-2 decision against then-No. 13 redshirt junior Scott Winston.

No. 20 senior Kyle Blevins of Appalachian State narrowly defeated Sulzer 2-0 at the Southern Scuffle in early January this year, ultimately winning third place in the tournament. Sulzer ended the competition in fifth place, so he is particularly eager for a shot at redemption this week against Appalachian State.

“I’m definitely looking forward to the rematch,” Sulzer said. “The first time you wrestle somebody, it’s almost like a feeling-out process in the beginning. You’re kind of apprehensive, but after you wrestle somebody the first time, it’s almost relaxing in a way. You can get down to just wrestling.”

Another Cavalier excited for a rematch with the Mountaineers is No. 14 redshirt sophomore Jon Fausey. Fausey fell 7-3 in his quarterfinals match at the Southern Scuffle against No. 12 senior Austin Trotman, who went on to take fifth place.

Sako also faces a familiar foe in senior Savva Kostis, but unlike Sulzer and Fausey, Sako was victorious in his previous bout. He pinned Kostis in 4 minutes 31 seconds and knocked him out of medal contention. Sako, who placed seventh  in the tournament, said he doesn’t anticipate changing his plan of attack for the rematch.

“No matter how much they’ve scouted me or wrestled me before, I’m going to do the exact same thing,” Sako said. “I’m going to bring the pressure.”

Appalachian State, despite the advantage gained from being at home, faces the challenge of wrestling Southern Conference rival VMI tonight with an opportunity to clinch its first regular season conference championship in nine years. Virginia has already completed its conference slate.

Tomorrow’s showdown is the Cavaliers’ last away match of the season before the ACC tournament, which begins March 3.

“I think that’s one thing our team does really well,” Sulzer said. “We’re all looking forward to the NCAA Tournament and being All-Americans and NCAA champions. When we go to practice we think about that rather than the match ahead.”