No. 12 Virginia wrestling reaches the end of its long, hard season journey at the NCAA Championships this week in Oklahoma City, Okla. Three days of nonstop wrestling against the nation’s best awaits them, with the ultimate prize of a national championship on the line.
The Cavaliers (18-3, 5-1 ACC) will send eight wrestlers to the tournament. Seven — junior Joe Spisak, redshirt junior Gus Sako, sophomore Blaise Butler, junior Nick Sulzer, senior Stephen Doty, senior Jon Fausey and sophomore Zach Nye — received automatic bids based on their performance at the ACC Tournament, while sophomore Nick Herrmann was granted an at-large bid.
Eight wrestlers constitute a large cheering section for any Virginia wrestler on the mats.
“Bringing almost all of our guys is a huge morale boost,” Spisak said. “It feels like another away dual match when, in reality, it is the toughest tournament of the year.”
Taking a nearly-filled stable with him to Oklahoma City, coach Steve Garland has made it known his sights are trained on a top-10 team finish. Last year, with nine wrestlers at the tournament, the Cavaliers placed 21st with 23.5 points. To clinch a top-10 spot Garland and his team will need to overcome old foes Pittsburgh and ACC champion Virginia Tech.
“A top-10 finish would be the highest our program has ever finished at nationals,” Spisak said. “It would mean the world to my coaches, teammates and me.”
Sulzer, a 2013 All-American at 165 pounds, looks to end his magnificent 2013-14 campaign with a trip to the podium. The third seed in his weight class, Sulzer draws Hokie redshirt junior Chris Moon in Thursday’s opening round. Sulzer dismantled Moon back in November in a 20-8 major decision.
Coming from a rival school, Moon will hold few surprises for Sulzer.
“I feel like we are both very familiar with each other, and that provides a sense of comfort,” Sulzer said. “I know what my opponent looks like and some of his tendencies, but in reality each match is different.
Four other Virginia wrestlers received one of the top-16 seeds in their brackets. All other wrestlers outside the 16 go unseeded. Spisak is seeded 16th in the 141-pound bracket and faces Lehigh sophomore Laike Gardner, who defeated Spisak by decision at the Northeast Duals in late November.
Sako is the 149-bracket’s seventh seed. He draws Northern Illinois senior Rob Jillard. Jillard missed a large portion of the season because of injury and enters the tournament with a 9-9 record.
The ACC champion at 157 pounds, Butler enters as a 10th seed. His opening round contest will be a rematch with Rutgers redshirt sophomore Anthony Perrotti. Perrotti fell to Butler by decision at the Northeast Duals.
Doty is the 11th seed at 174 pounds. Sophomore Austin Gabel of Virginia Tech will look to avenge an earlier 4-1 loss to Doty in Charlottesville.
Unseeded at 125 pounds, Herrmann’s first opponent will be Oklahoma redshirt senior Jarrod Patterson, the sixth seed. In the 184 pound bracket Fausey takes on Old Dominion redshirt freshman Zach Dechow, who handed Fausey a 3-1 decision loss earlier in the season.
At 197 pounds, Nye, the ACC runner-up, gets an extremely difficult draw with junior Scott Schiller of Minnesota. Schiller is the fourth seed in the bracket and a defending All-American.
The Cavaliers will strive to exceed their mark of two All-Americans from the 2013 Tournament. The top eight finishers in each bracket receive All-American honors.
“We have an extremely talented team,” Spisak said. “When we show up to wrestle at our best then great things happen.”
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