Virginia wrestling travels to Chapel Hill, N.C. this weekend to compete in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Cavaliers will be tested by arguably the best wrestling conference in the nation and face solid opponents in Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue.
"I am so excited to wrestle them, and I think our kids are excited to wrestle them because in wrestling -- as in every other sport for that matter -- you have to wrestle against the best and play against the toughest competition in order to improve," Virginia coach Steve Garland said.
The Big Ten dominates collegiate wrestling by boasting the top-ranked team in the country (Minnesota), as well as the sixth (Iowa), seventh (Penn State), ninth (Northwestern), 12th (Michigan), 14th (Wisconsin), 16th (Michigan State), 17th (Ohio State), 19th (Indiana) and 23rd (Illinois) ranked teams. The Big Ten also brings to the mat six top-ranked individual wrestlers in the ten weight divisions.
Northwestern comes to Chapel Hill 3-0 and as the No. 9 team in the nation, according to Wrestling Report, and has numerous individually ranked wrestlers. Ryan Lang is ranked first in the nation at 141 pounds, Jake Herbert first at 184, Mike Tamillow 12th at 197 and Dustin Fox is ranked fourth in the heavyweight division. Northwestern coach Tim Cysewski is in his 16th season with the school and hopes this talented team can improve upon his best team performance -- a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 1991.
"Northwestern is a huge test for us this weekend," Garland said.
Wisconsin is currently the 14th ranked team in the nation and brings a solid squad to Chapel Hill as well. Zach Tanelli is ranked 16th nationally at 133 pounds, Tyler Turner fifth at 149, Craig Henning third at 157, Dallas Herbst 11th at 197 and Kyle Massey 11th in the heavyweight division. The Badgers began this season a strong 5-0 in coach Barry Davis' 13th year at Wisconsin.
Purdue comes to Chapel Hill having only wrestled one match -- an 18-17 nail-biter against Old Dominion. Coach Jesse Reyes enters his 14th season at Purdue with a freshman-dominated roster but hopes to continue the success of recent years, which included a 15th-place finish at the 2001-2002 NCAA Championships.
North Carolina and N.C. State are the other two schools representing the ACC this weekend. The ACC schools will use this set of matches to judge how they stack up against national competition.
"This is a chance to get our name out there, and let people know that we are an up-and-coming team and are going to be on the national scene pretty soon," Rocco Caponi said. Caponi leads the Cavaliers to Chapel Hill as the 11th ranked wrestler in the 184 pound weight division. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers will be without 174 pound wrestler Mike Grogan.
"Everybody in the county is banged up around this time of the year," Garland said. "I think we are just as healthy as anybody else right now."
The Cavaliers did not face competition this tough this past weekend but were glad for the chance to prepare for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
"We have been working all weekend towards getting these guys mentally prepared for a war for seven minutes," Garland said. "We are going to bang heads, see where we are at, what we need to work on and hopefully get some big wins."
Read More
Abysmal start proves too much to overcome as Virginia exits ACC Tournament early
By Ryan Weiner | YesterdayIf the Cavaliers make the NCAA Tournament, they cannot afford to play another game like this.
As the Walshes take their final bow, the swimming world pauses
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoHow could anyone possibly describe the success of this duo?
Virginia women’s track & field wins ACC Championships
By Caroline Wulff | 3 days agoThe last time the Virginia women’s track and field team won ACC Outdoor Championships was 1987 — at least until this past weekend.
