Expectations are through the roof as the Virginia wrestling team is set to start its season this weekend.
“If we don’t have at least three All-Americans, I am going to be distraught,” coach Steve Garland said.
This is how confident the Cavaliers are as they begin their season. Last year’s campaign saw several program firsts: beating two teams from the Big Ten — usually considered the premier conference in wrestling — for the first time ever as well as beating Lehigh for the first time. The Cavaliers are hungry to improve this season and are looking to achieve more program firsts. Entering the season, the Cavaliers are ranked No. 23 in the country by InterMat, the highest and first ranking in the program’s history. To accompany their ranking, the Cavaliers will also face their toughest schedule in program history, as well. The Cavaliers are led by Garland, a young coach in his third year at Virginia who has seen improvement in each of his previous two seasons. The Cavaliers welcome back starters in eight of the 10 weight classes and are looking for the freshman class to make a big impact. Garland has been able to bring in three straight top-25 recruiting classes. Most notable from this year’s class is Jedd Moore, who won the Eastern Michigan Open this past weekend, wrestling in the 157-pound division.
“He was one of our biggest recruits last year,” Garland said. “We couldn’t be more excited about Jedd.”
While the freshman class is highly touted, the experienced veterans will have to carry the team through the year. Virginia has three wrestlers ranked in the top 25 in their respective weight classes: No. 16 junior Ross Gitomer at 125 pounds, No. 16 sophomore Chris Henrich at 174 pounds and senior No. 9 Rocco Caponi at 184 pounds. All three made it to the NCAA Championships last season and look to return this season.
“Rocco Caponi and Chris Henrich are the two guys we depend highly upon,” Garland said. “Every big dual meet we will look to those guys for wins. They are the heart and soul of the team. Ross Gitomer is our most vocal leader; he is a phenomenal worker.”
The Cavaliers, who are ranked second in the ACC behind No. 17 Maryland, will need everyone to step up this season as they face their toughest schedule in program history, facing six top-25 teams in dual matches, three of which are in the top 10. One of Virginia’s most notable opponents will be 34-time national champion Oklahoma State.
“Rocco Caponi was one of the main catalysts for me designing the schedule the way I did,” Garland said. “He needs to wrestle the best, win or lose and improve from that.”
Caponi has won two ACC titles in the 184-pound division and has made three trips to the NCAA Championships. The team’s success this year will depend largely on Caponi. The Cavaliers’ first and foremost goal is to win an ACC title, as the team was inches away from winning it last year, losing to Maryland by just two points.
“Our goal is the same as it is every year: to win an NCAA title,” Caponi said. “As for the team, it’s trying to get every single person to NCAAs and to win our first ACC title since the 1970s.”
The Cavaliers will kick off their season at the Michigan State Open this Sunday in East Lansing, Mich. The Cavaliers do not have a home match until Jan. 17 when they take on UNC Greensboro and Rutgers in a double dual meet.
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