Last year, Virginia held its opponent scoreless in just one dual, an ACC matchup against Duke. This year, that has happened in three consecutive duals, including two over the weekend.
The Cavaliers (5–2, 0–0 ACC) faced off against Bridgeport and East Stroudsburg in a tri-meet Sunday. In a collective effort, Virginia shut out both teams, extending their winning streak to three.
The weekend was filled with firsts — eight wrestlers saw their first action of the season, the Cavaliers faced Bridgeport (0–4, 0–0 CACC) for the first time in program history, cruising to a shutout. Virginia also tallied their second all-time win against East Stroudsburg (7–1, 1–0 PSAC). Despite facing relatively unfamiliar opponents, the Cavaliers appeared unfazed.
Freshman Rocco Hayes opened both duals and won by pin at 125 lbs. Hayes secured his first pin just two and a half minutes into the bout, but his second pin against East Stroudsburg came much later, nearing the final minute. In both bouts, Hayes set the tone for Virginia’s upcoming matchups.
From there, the Cavaliers quickly caught fire. Fellow freshmen Ethan Timar, Aiden Allen and Jayce Paridon followed suit, capitalizing on their bouts with pins of their own and pushing the Cavaliers to an early 24–0 lead — their highest point total this season through the first four weight classes.
At 157 lbs, redshirt freshman Jack Myers faced junior Matt Ryan in a match that burned through the entire clock. With both sides bending but not breaking, Myers came out on top, winning by decision. After the full-length bout, freshman Macon Ayers — in stark contrast — quickly settled his match at 165 lbs, pinning Bridgeport’s freshman Joshua Alert.
Closing out the dual, redshirt freshman Brenan Morgan collected the Cavaliers’ sixth pin, finishing his bout in decisive, relentless fashion.
But the day was far from over for the Cavaliers, who returned to the mat just an hour and a half later — a common occurrence in their grueling schedule so far this season. Despite the quick turnaround, Virginia powered its way through another shutout dual. Hayes opened the action with yet another tone-setting opening pin. The bouts that followed stretched longer than the first dual — a natural result of the heavy slate — but the outcomes remained the same.
Paridon secured his second pin of the afternoon. In contrast to his first bout, he took command immediately, finishing the match in only 37 seconds and closing his first duals of the season on a high note.
Amidst a host of other strong Virginia performances, Myers and freshman Emmitt Sherlock did not allow their opponents to score a single point in the second dual, dominating from start to finish and winning by tech fall.
Collecting their third shutout of the season, Coach Steve Garland also notched his 199th win as the head coach of the Cavaliers. In next week’s matchup, the Cavaliers will travel to Lewisburg, Pa., where they will square off against Hofstra, Bucknell and Morgan State. They will look to keep their shutout streak alive — and hopefully deliver a momentous 200th career win for Garland.
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