Virginia (5-6, 1-1 ACC) hit its stride Sunday during its convincing 25-9 win over Virginia Tech. Virginia hopes to ride this momentum into Athens, Ohio, where it will take on Ohio University (13-6) and Ashland University (7-6) in back-to-back meets Saturday.
The importance of these meets is not lost on the Cavaliers, as they head into the homestretch of the season. With several vital meets against tough ACC opponents in upcoming weeks, Virginia hopes this weekend will give the team the boost it needs to end the season with a bang.
"We need this weekend to get two wins," Virginia coach Steve Garland said. "We want to be psychologically and physically feeling great about ourselves before we go into that ACC run."
Ohio will no doubt be looking for revenge after last year's meet, when the Cavaliers edged the Bobcats 18-15. Although Ohio is not nationally renowned for its wrestling, it nevertheless poses a strong threat to Virginia.
"Ohio University is notoriously known for having hard-nosed, hard-working kids, Garland said. "They might not have the name-brand recognition that some of the other schools do, but their kids go hard."
Ohio's strength is in the middleweights; all five Bobcats with winning percentages above .667 are at 141, 149, 157, 165 or 174 pounds. The Cavaliers need to focus on winning their lightweight and heavyweight matches if they are to emerge as winners.
"We've got a pivotal match at 184 pounds," Garland said. "One of our best kids, Rocco Caponi, is up against [Nick Terbay]. Also, at 133 pounds, Terry Jackson from Ohio University is a very talented young wrestler, and we have a very talented young wrestler there too in Eric Albright. I think those are two very key match-ups to focus on."
Caponi in particular needs to get back on track after a tough defeat in his last match against Virginia Tech -- just his fourth loss of the season. Caponi, however, does not plan on preparing any differently as he gets ready for Saturday.
"You try to take every match the same; you don't wrestle anybody differently than you wrestle anybody else," Caponi said. "You're always going to go out there and try to dominate."
On the surface, Virginia's second meet against Ashland appears to be an easy win, since it is a Division II program. The Cavaliers know, however, that they can't take this match for granted. The 12th-ranked Ashland squad has wrestlers ranked nationally in the top eight in nearly every weight class among Division II schools.
"Ashland is notoriously known for being a powerhouse Division II," Garland said. "They always produce national champions and all-Americans."
Both of these matches are vital as the Cavaliers try to raise their game as the season ends. With the ACC tournament approaching fast, Virginia needs to be at the top of its game heading into the postseason.
"You've got to try to peak at the right time," Caponi said. "It doesn't matter how you've wrestled up until this point in the season, it matters once you hit the ACC tournament -- it matters how you wrestle there. You can lose every match up to the ACC tournament, but if you go undefeated from that point on, you're still a national champion."
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