The Virginia wrestling team rebounded quite nicely from a loss to Virginia Tech last weekend, destroying Maryland last night at Memorial Gymnasium, 27-10.
The Cavaliers (3-5, 1-1) won their first ACC match of the season by stealing seven of the 10 bouts on the night against the rival Terrapins (4-2, 2-1). The seven Cav victories included a pin by first year Steve Mazzola and major decisions by second year Ryan McGrath and fifth years Steve Garland and John Pozniak.
"We wrestled really well," Virginia Coach Lenny Bernstein said. "We took it to a team that beat North Carolina, a team we lost to earlier in the season."
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The battle began in the 174-pound weight class. Mazzola recorded the only pin of the night, defeating Terrapin Maike Tomaino to give the Cavaliers a 6-0 lead. Mazzola also beat Tomaino Feb. 6 at the Congressional Cup tournament.
"I wrestled him before, so I knew if I could start the team off with a big win then it could probably carry us through the whole meet," Mazzola said. "He was riding high on top, so I grabbed his leg and rolled through. I then looked for his head and stuck him right on his back."
McGrath followed Mazzola's example, overpowering Mark Reid 13-6, earning a major decision for the Cavaliers.
"McGrath didn't feel very good today," Bernstein said. "I think he was hurting from the flu, but he found a way to win and win big."
Virginia continued the streak, winning at 197, heavyweight and 125 before dropping two straight matches at 133 and 141.
In the 125-pound bout, Garland dismantled Terp freshman Matt Pandullo 13-3, pushing Virginia's lead to 20-0.
Cavaliers Toby MacDonald and Dave Takseraas swallowed a pair of defeats, but the two-match Cavalier skid ended in the 149-pound match, when Pozniak earned Virginia's third major decision of the night by defeating Maryland's Grant Newman, 24-7.
The night ended with Virginia and Maryland splitting wins in the last two bouts. Virginia's Don Carlo-Clauss won 5-3 in a tight match while Cavalier Brian Muir lost 2-3 at 165 to end the night.
"Every match we can win in the ACC is a big one," Mazzola said. "We are looking forward to next weekend's two ACC matches [at N.C. State and Duke]. This will help us get our momentum going"
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