Tweet

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – It was billed as the toughest weekend in Virginia Tech wrestling history and it will go down as probably one of the most successful weekends in Hokie wrestling history. One day after beating a ranked opponent for the first time in the program’s history, the Hokies beat sixth-ranked Central Michigan Sunday at Rose Arena, 19-12. Earlier in the day, the Hokies dropped their first match of the season, falling 26-11 to No. 4 Nebraska. With the split, the Hokies now stand at 15-1 on the year.

In the opener, Tech took an early lead against the Cornhuskers, but then had to run through Nebraska’s maelstrom of wrestlers over the last six matches which was the difference.

Jarrod Garnett, ranked 13^th in the country, improved to 3-0 on the weekend with an 8-2 win over Andy Pokorny at 125 pounds. Chris Diaz picked up a technical fall in the third period at 141 pounds and then Pete Yates picked up a 5-2 decision at 149 pounds to give the Hokies an 11-3 lead.

Nebraska’s last six wrestlers are ranked third, fifth, second, 10^th, second and 16^th nationally and they didn’t let down the team as four of them picked up bonus points. David Marone took 16^th-ranked Tucker Lane to the first tiebreaker, where Lane picked up an escape but Marone could not as he lost 2-1.

After Nebraska and Central Michigan tied, the Hokies took on the sixth-ranked Chippewas and they bounced back like few thought they would.

Garnett capped off his incredible 4-0 weekend with an 11-3 major decision over No. 8 Scotti Sentes. After a scoreless first period, he led just 2-1 going into the third period. There, he picked up a reversal, two-point nearfall and two takedowns to pick up four team points. After a loss a 133 pounds, Diaz finished off his 4-0 weekend with a 2-1 victory in the first tiebreaker.

At 149 pounds, Yates used a point for riding time to pick up a huge 3-2 decision over eighth-ranked Steve Brown. Jesse Dong rallied from a 4-0 deficit to pick up a 7-4 win over Tyler Grayson at 157 pounds.

The momentum really swung to the Hokies’ side when Matt Epperly upset 10^th-ranked Trevor Stewart 7-5 in sudden victory. Trailing 2-1 heading into the second period, Epperly got a reversal and then a takedown in the third stanza. Stewart had 1:09 of riding time to send it to sudden victory, but Epperly got a takedown to pick up the enormous win.

The Hokies lost at 174 and 184 pounds and the Chippewas cut it to a seven-point deficit with two matches left. D.J. Bruce sealed the upset for the visitors with a 6-3 win over Eric Simaz.

After going 0-8 in his previous contests against ranked teams, Tech picked up two wins over top 20 teams this weekend, both on their opponent’s mat. The Hokies beat No. 17 Michigan on Saturday before beating sixth-ranked CMU Sunday. For the weekend, Tech’s lower weights really came through as Garnett (125), Diaz (141) and Yates (149) all went 4-0. Garnett is now 30-4 on the season while Diaz sits at 25-7 and Yates is 23-7.

Tech (15-1) will finally begin ACC play now as it will take on the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina next weekend. On Saturday, the Hokies and Hoos will battle as part of the “Rumble on the River” at Deep Run High in Glen Allen, Va., at 1 p.m. On Sunday, the Hokies and Tar Heels will battle at Fetzer Gym at 1 o’clock in Chapel Hill.

For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).