Saturday brought a blizzard of “earlies” to Charlottesville. With a snowstorm bearing down, schedules shifted and start times accelerated. Both Virginia wrestling and the men's basketball team found themselves competing hours ahead of schedule. But for the wrestling team, that theme of earliness proved prophetic in the worst way. Against Stanford, the wrestler who struck first won every single bout, and the Cavaliers found themselves playing catch-up from the opening whistle in a 31-9 defeat.
Coming off a loss to then-No. 13 UNC, the Cavaliers (8-6, 0-3 ACC) were given the home advantage for the second time this season — though they competed at the Aquatic & Fitness Center instead of John Paul Jones Arena — hosting No. 24 Stanford (4-8, 2-2 ACC).
A win against Stanford would have given the Cavaliers not only their first ACC victory of the season but also their first ranked win. Instead, a series of untimely mistakes translated into a crushing loss.
The opening bout of the afternoon began at 165 lbs, with senior Nick Sanko facing redshirt freshman EJ Parco. From the outset, Parker pounced on Sanko, scoring the first takedown of the dual. The constant pressure kept Sanko on his heels, and when time expired, Parker secured a 8-3 decision to give the Cardinal the first three points on the board.
Next, No. 27 senior Nick Hamilton stepped onto the mat against redshirt freshman Collin Guffey, carrying more than just his team’s hopes. For three weeks, Hamilton had been battling an illness severe enough to send him to the doctor multiple times.
“No one really knows that,” Coach Steve Garland said. “I’m talking like struggling, to the point we went to doctors, everything. And he went out and sucked it up and did what he did.”
Despite it all, Hamilton struck first with an early takedown and never relinquished the lead, becoming one of just two Cavaliers to win their bout and knotting the dual score at 3-3.
Senior Griffin Gammell drew the unenviable task of facing Stanford's first ranked opponent, No. 33 Abraham Wojckiewicz. After a series of lockups, the pivotal moment came when Wojckiewicz caught Gammell hobbling on one leg, slowly losing balance before finally securing the takedown. Gammell never recovered, dropping the bout 9-1 in a major decision that put Stanford ahead 7-3.
The bleeding continued at 197 lbs, where junior Steven Burrell Jr. was pinned by No. 17 freshman Angelo Posada in the blink of an eye.
Down 13-3, the Cavaliers desperately needed a spark. Redshirt freshman Brenan Morgan provided it at heavyweight, engaging hard and early against senior Luke Duthie. Morgan scored the first takedown, then relentlessly worked toward the pin, finally securing it at 1:42 to cut the deficit to 13-9.
With the pin a roar swept through the AFC as Morgan beckoned to the crowd with raised arms, delivering a much-needed energy shock. But unbeknownst to the rallying home crowd, those were the last points Virginia would score.
The bleeding resumed at 125 lbs, where No. 23 senior Keyveon Roller faced No. 12 senior Nico Provo in the first matchup featuring two ranked wrestlers. Roller fell into the same pattern that plagued the Cavaliers all afternoon, surrendering an early takedown and dropping his bout to extend Stanford's lead to 16-9.
At 133 lbs, No. 33 fifth-year Marlon Yarbrough took on Stanford's highest-ranked wrestler, No. 7 junior Tyler Knox, in an electric bout where neither gave an inch. Yarbrough controlled the match early, but Knox scored a takedown to seize momentum. Down late, Yarbrough managed a two-point reversal in the final 30 seconds, offering a glimmer of hope that proved too minimal as Stanford extended its lead 19-9.
“That match was awesome,” Garland said. “The referee afterwards goes, ‘Dude, that was wild’... I mean, that's a great compliment, but we didn't win."
Junior Gable Porter, a two-time ACC Wrestler of the Week, then lost his matchup at 141 lbs against No. 13 sophomore Jack Consiglio. Porter started with control of the bout, but gave up his positioning through a series of technical mistakes, letting Consiglio secure a major decision win that pushed Stanford's lead to 23-9.
Junior Wynton Denkins at 149 lbs and No. 33 graduate student Colton Washleski at 157 lbs closed what became a dreadful afternoon. Denkins and Washleski faced off against No. 9 redshirt freshman Aden Valencia and No. 10 senior Daniel Cardenas respectively. Both Cavalier wrestlers struggled to make any headway as Denkins fell by decision and Washleski succumbed to a tech fall, producing a final score of 31-9.
But even after the loss, Garland still believes that the wrestlers are only a few minor mistakes away from really pulling everything together.
“They're special. But what's frustrating to watch is [Stanford] executed exactly their game plan like we have game plans all week,” Garland said. “But it doesn't matter what we know. They got to actually do it.”
The Cavaliers will get the chance to clean up those mistakes and execute their game plan more effectively as they travel to Durham, N.C. to face off against Duke. This will be the first ACC opponent they face that is unranked — the match will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 and streamed on ACCNX.
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