January 3, 2009
Tech goes 3-0 in Lone Star Duals
Six Hokies go undefeated on the day

DALLASVirginia Tech’s wrestling squad swept Saturday’s Lone Star Duals, defeating Cal Poly 34-9, Central Oklahoma 34-9 and Brown 36-9 at the South Grand High School Coliseum in Dallas, Texas.

The Hokies completed the three-win streak with a 34-9 decision over Cal Poly in Tech’s final match of the day. Freshman Jesse Dong highlighted the bout with a 2-0 victory over 12th-ranked Chase Pami at 157 pounds, and went undefeated on the day.

Freshmen Jarrod Garnett at 125 pounds, Pete Yates at 149 pounds, sophomores Matt Epperly at 165 pounds, DJ Bruce at 197 pounds and David Marone at 285 pounds also went undefeated in the three duals.

Garnett won against Cal Poly by injury default, Yates captured a 6-1 decision over Eric Moldanado and Epperly earned a tech fall, 18-3, over Joel Shaw. Bruce defeated Bo Lukehart 6-2, while Marone majored Kelan Bragg 10-2.

Sophomore Will Livingston also scored a technical fall, winning 16-1 at 133 pounds, while sophomores Tommy Spellman won by forfeit at 184 pounds. Sophomore Chris Diaz lost a tough 6-2 decision to 19th-ranked Filip Novachkov of the Mustangs and Tech was forced to forfeit at 174 pounds due to freshman Anthony Trongone suffering from an abscessed tooth.

Against Central Oklahoma, Yates, ranked 20th in the InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Division I Individual Rankings, and Dong both stuck their opponents at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively, to lead the Hokies.

Garnet, Diaz, Epperly and Bruce all added major decisions in the bout as well. Garnett captured a 17-5 bout over Nick Rice of Central Oklahoma at 125 pounds, while Diaz defeated Colby Robinson, ranked third in Division II at 141 pounds, 10-1. Epperly and Bruce scored 10-2 and 18-5 victories at 165 and 197 pounds respectively, continuing their strong showings in the tournament.

Marone and Spellman rounded out the Hokie scoring against Central Oklahoma, with Spellman winning a 3-2 bout at 185 pounds, and Marone defeating the top-ranked heavyweight in Division II, 7-0. Livingston fell 12-9 to third-ranked Tim Elliot from UCO at 133 pounds.

In the first match of the day, Tech dropped Brown 36-9, behind Garnett, Epperly and Bruce pins against their respective opponents.

Tech started the dual out strongly, as Garnett, ranked 10th at 125 pounds, earned a fall over Mike Piccirillo of Brown to open the match. At 133 pounds, Livingston added a 7-4 decision and 11th-ranked Diaz won in sudden victory, 10-8 at 141 pounds.

At 149 pounds, Yates dominated Brown’s Mark Bloom, scoring a technical fall, 23-6. Dong followed up with another strong performance at 157 pounds, winning a major decision 9-0, over Lenny Marrandino of Brown.

Epperly and Bruce added pins at 165 and 197 pounds, respectively, after the Hokies forfeited at 174 pounds and Spellman fell to the Bears’ Matt Gevlinger 6-1 at 184 pounds. Marone finished the dual on a strong note for the Hokies with a hard-fought, 5-3 decision over Brown’s heavyweight Zach Zdrada.

Tech moved to 6-0 with the victories, while Brown fell to 2-4, UCO dropped to 4-2 and Cal Poly sits at 3-5 on the season in duals. The Hokies will next head to the Bulldog Duals in Boiling Springs, N.C., for matchups against Gardner-Webb, The Citadel and Davidson on Jan. 10. Results will be posted on hokiesports.com following the duals.

Virginia Tech (4-0) 36, Brown (0-4) 9

125: Jarrod Garnett (VT) fall Mike Piccirillo, 3:27
133: Will Livingston (VT) dec. Eli Harris, 7-4
141: Chris Diaz (VT) dec. Steven Delorenzo, 10-8 SV
149: Pete Yates (VT) tech fall Mark Bloom, 23-6
157: Jesse Dong (VT) maj. dec. Lenny Marrandino, 9-0
165: Matt Epperly (VT) fall Chris Musser, 3:21
174: Bran Crudden (Brown) wins by forfeit
184: Matt Gevelinger (Brown) dec. Tommy Spellman, 6-1
197: D.J. Bruce (VT) fall Branden Stearns, 3:44
285: David Marone (VT) dec. Zach Zdrada, 5-3

Virginia Tech (5-0) 34, Central Oklahoma (2-2) 9

125: Jarrod Garnett (VT) maj. dec. Nick Rice, 17-5
133: Tim Elliott (UCO) dec. Will Livingston, 12-9
141: Chris Diaz (VT) maj. dec. Colby Robinson, 10-1
149: Pete Yates (VT) fall Luke Elmore, 4:20
157: Jesse Dong (VT) fall Kelly Henderson, 4:06
165: Matt Epperly (VT) maj. dec. Mikey Morgan, 10-2
174: Cody Rowell (UCO) wins by forfeit
184: Tommy Spellman (VT) dec. Tommy McCarty, 3-2
197: D.J. Bruce (VT) maj. dec. Daniel Morrison, 18-5
285: David Marone (VT) dec. Cameron Gladd, 7-0

Virginia Tech (6-0) 34, Cal Poly (3-5) 9

125: Jarrod Garnett (VT) inj. def. Micah Ferguson, 2:57
133: Will Livingston (VT) tech fall Jake Tanenbaum, 16-1
141: Filip Novachkov (Cal Poly) dec. Chris Diaz, 6-2
149: Pete Yates (VT) dec. Eric Maldonado, 6-1
157: Jesse Dong (VT) def. Chase Pami, 2-0
165: Matt Epperly (VT) maj. dec. Joel Shaw, 18-5
174: Tyler Holt (Cal Poly) wins by forfeit
184: Tommy Spellman (VT) wins by forfeit
197: D.J. Bruce (VT) dec. Bo Lukehart, 6-2
285: David Marone (VT) maj. dec. Kelan Bragg, 10-2


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