After a tough loss to rival Virginia Tech last Sunday, the Virginia wrestling team's schedule does not get any easier this weekend. The Cavaliers head north Sunday to participate in the annual Nittany Lion Open, where all 10 teams are ranked nationally. The host, Penn State, sits at No. 5, followed by No. 8 Pittsburgh, No. 10 Lehigh, No. 13 Maryland, No. 16 Rutgers, No. 19 Central Michigan, No. 20 Kent State and No. 25 Binghamton, as well as the Hokies and Cavaliers, who rank 14th and 23rd, respectively.
For open meets, teams sometimes use their star wrestlers to keep up momentum. Penn State will likely send all eight of its ranked competitors to the mat, including national No. 1s senior Frank Molinaro, a 149-pounder, and sophomore David Taylor of the 165-pound class.
Virginia coach Steve Garland, however, has a different approach.
Garland will give his veteran wrestlers a chance to recover and focus on their studies after five meets in three weeks, especially with finals around the corner. The coach also wants to rest some of his wrestlers who have taken the most wear and tear early in the season.
"The guys who aren't healthy, we're going to shut them down and rest them to get them ready for the next push," Garland said. "So we need to go up there and just get as many matches as we can with the guys that are healthy."
That will give Garland's younger players a chance to face some strong competition.
"We just want to get matches," Garland said. "We're going to bring the young guys and guys like [senior] Ryan Malo who need to keep getting matches and figure out how to force his positions."
Malo transferred from Williams College after posting three Division III All-American seasons, and the Nittany Lion Open will give him a chance to square off against some of the country's elite competition.
"We do have guys that are going to Penn State and they're just excited to compete," said redshirt sophomore Jon Fausey, who will not participate in this weekend's matches after performing well against Virginia Tech. "Most of those guys aren't guys that wrestled [against Virginia Tech] and they're excited to go up to Penn State, which is a great tournament, and show off their abilities"
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