The No. 21 Virginia wrestling team capped its stellar regular season during yesterday's Senior Day with two dominating victories against in-state opponents No. 23 Old Dominion and George Mason at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Cavaliers (11-1, 4-1 ACC) ended their 2012 campaign with the best dual meet record in program history, edging their previous best of 11-2, which had stood since 1974. Unprecedented regular season success is hardly enough to satiate the Virginia squad's hunger for victory.
"The season's not over for anyone. It's just beginning really," No. 7 redshirt senior Nick Nelson said. "We have two weeks until ACCs and four weeks until the national championships, so [the big picture] is really the only thing that matters."
Nelson was one of four seniors honored in yesterday's pre-match ceremonies, along with Shawn Harris, Sam MacGregor and Ryan Malo. Nelson said the wrestlers tried to maintain their focus in spite of the momentous occasion.
"At first I didn't want to be a part of the festivities," Nelson said. "I already have enough emotions going on before a match, but [assistant coach Jordan Leen] told me, 'It's not for you, it's for the people that have watched and supported you for the past five years.'"
Nelson came away with a 1-0 victory in a high-intensity match against nationally ranked Old Dominion redshirt sophomore Justin LaValle, as the Cavaliers ran away with a 31-3 win against the shorthanded Monarchs.
Nelson did not lose on Senior Day, going on to take a 4-1 decision in his next match against George Mason redshirt junior Denny Herndon.
"Nick's really wrestled with a purpose and poise, knowing that this is kind of like Custer's Last Stand - it's now or never," Virginia assistant coach Alex Clemsen said. "With that being said, I don't think he lets the pressure affect him. He lets it motivate him."
Virginia took nine of 10 bouts against the Old Dominion, which was missing three of its top wrestlers, including No. 14 senior Te Edwards.
Virginia freshman Vinny Waldhauser took full advantage of Edward's absence, scoring a decisive 10-4 win against redshirt junior Brett Miller, who bumped up a weight class to fill in for Edwards at the 174-pound slot. Waldhauser went undefeated on the day, taking a 14-1 major decision in his next match against George Mason freshman Seth Robertson.
No. 20 sophomore Gus Sako continued his breakout season, dominating Old Dominion redshirt junior Brennan Brumley in a 8-1 decision and pinning George Mason redshirt freshman Kevin Timothy in 6 minutes 34 seconds after leading 21-6.
"Gus is wrestling really well right now, especially after he came out of his redshirt over Christmas break," Clemsen said. "He's competed at a really high level and we expect great things out of him."
Redshirt junior Jedd Moore capped the Cavaliers' victory against the Monarchs as he manhandled freshman Jacob Kingett - filling in for Old Dominion stalwart redshirt sophomore John Nicholson - en route to a 19-7 major decision.
Almost immediately after Virginia readily dispatched the reeling Old Dominion squad, they took to the mat again to face George Mason. The Cavaliers chose to rest some of their regular starters against the Patriots, including No. 20 redshirt senior Matt Nelson, Moore and No. 14 redshirt sophomore Jon Fausey.
Even lacking three of their top scorers, the Cavaliers soundly defeated the Patriots, taking eight of 10 weight classes in a 29-7 bout to finish the regular season. "I think we had a great regular season, the guys did a really good job of focusing on the goal - which is obviously the last two weekends of the year," Clemsen said. "However... those two weekends aren't any different from the regular season. You need to go out and keep doing the same things you've been doing all year and good things are going to happen."
The highlight of the George Mason match came at the 157-pound weight class where MacGregor took to the mat for the Cavaliers. A natural 141-pounder, the scrappy MacGregor wrestled up two weight classes, dropping a hard-fought 6-1 decision to sophomore Shohei Takagi. MacGregor has seen only limited action this year, because of competition at the 141-pound weight class from Nick Nelson, but earned the nod for his final career home match.
The Cavaliers do not have another competition until the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, NC March 3, giving them almost two full weeks to prepare for the postseason. After placing third at the event last year, the Cavaliers hope to bring the team championship back to Charlottesville this year, as they did most recently in the 2010 season.
"Our team is deep and I think people probably need to not sleep on any of our guys because we're really well prepared and we're excited for the postseason," Clemsen said. "Whether it's a first-year or fourth-year, it doesn't really matter, we feel like we have a good shot at all of our weights"
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