Despite the loss of All-Americans Scott Moore and Tim Foley who finished their eligibility last year, the Virginia wrestling team is planning for no letdown this season and hopes to improve on last year's No. 16 national ranking at the 2004 NCAA tournament.
Although the 2004-05 Cavaliers are a relatively young team, they boast depth up and down the lineup. The squad has close races at most weight classes over who is the No. 1 starter, which should only add to the overall team talent level.
There is, however, a clear starter at the 165-pound weight class. Senior Will Durkee fills the vacated spot left by Foley who went 16-1 last year in the ACC. Durkee has notched 60 career victories and 14 dual match wins. He took a redshirt last year and has been focusing on this season for a year and a half.
"Foley had a great year last year, but I think I can definitely step in and be an All-American this year," Durkee said. "My only three losses [last season] were all to All-Americans -- two of those were one-point matches. So I feel like I'm definitely ready to step in and compete with the top guys in the country."
In Virginia's annual Blue/Orange intrasquad exhibition meet Sunday, Durkee was the only wrestler to register a fall. Durkee pinned sophomore Drew Michelotti at 1:44, propelling the blue team to an 18-6 triumph.
The close competition at various weight classes was evident throughout the exhibition meet.
Freshman Rocco Caponi defeated sophomore Damian Johnson (15-6 last season), 4-2, in a heated back-and-forth match that wasn't settled until double overtime.
"At 174 -- what a match," said Virginia coach Lenny Bernstein, who is in his 12th year at the helm. "I was so impressed with both the resolves of those young men.I think there's going to be a lot of competition between those two before the year is over."
Junior Chudi Uraih wrestled sophomore Kyle Narkiewicz to a 3-3 tie in the 184-pound match, but lost 4-3 due to riding time. Uraih defeated sophomore Brendan Ready 3-2 earlier in the exhibition for the right to face the Narkiewicz.
"Certainly for 184, I think the surprise there was Chudi Uraih," Bernstein said. "To give Narkiewicz the match that maybe he didn't expect was real impressive. That kid has come a long way -- just a walk-on last year. To have him go against a scholarship kid like Narkiewicz and put a match together like he did, is very impressive."
Narkiewicz went 4-1 last year in limited action before a shoulder tear derailed his season.
"I'm kind of like a first year this year," Narkiewicz said. "I didn't get as many matches in last year as I wanted to. ... I feel healthy and everything [this season]."
Redshirt senior Paul Bjorlo comes back as Virginia's returning wins (31) and pins (7) leader. Overshadowed by Foley and Moore last winter, Bjorlo has notched 58 career victories, including 20 dual match wins. Bjorlo, however, faces stiff competition from Jim Hartey at 157 pounds. Hartey defeated Bjorlo 5-4, in another match that came down to riding time Sunday. Hartey, a redshirt junior, was supposed to start at 149 pounds last season but took the year off because of personal reasons. Bernstein said the preseason competition could decide who ends up starting at 157.
"I have the right mindset now," Hartey said. "Everything in the past is behind me. I'm going to give it all I have."
Virginia has an upcoming quad meet at Edinboro, Pa., and two invitationals at Cornell and Las Vegas. The exhibition and those meets will decide who starts when the dual meet part of the season begins with Virginia Tech Dec. 10.
With all the competition the Cavalier lineup may not remain the same the entire year, but that should only improve the team in the long run.
"If we could have two or three guys at every weight on the team who are all pushing each other along, while it will be a disappointment for somebody not to start, it will be great for the team as a whole to have that kind of depth and that kind of ability to have people pushing other people on the team," Durkee said. "We're a really young team, so especially early in the season for the younger guys -- they're going to take their lumps. But by the end of the year, I think we can develop into a very strong team."
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