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GLEN ALLEN, Va. – A pin by Jarrod Garnett midway through the team match proved to be huge as the 13^th-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling team pulled away late Saturday afternoon, beating in-state rival Virginia 21-12 in front of a near-capacity crowd at Deep Run High School as part of the Rumble on the River.

The match opened up at 165 pounds where Virginia’s Matt Sewell picked up a 7-2 win over Matt Epperly. The two were scoreless heading into the third period, but Sewell got a pair of takedowns and three near fall points late in the match to pick up the win. At 174 pounds, ninth-ranked Chris Henrich of Virginia moved to 31-1 on the year with a 6-1 decision over Anthony Trongone.

At 184 pounds, Tommy Spellman nearly picked up a big pin to tie things up, but settled for a dominating 8-1 decision over No. 16 Rocco Caponi. Spellman put Caponi on his back midway through the second period, but Caponi held it off. Spellman rode Caponi the entire second period and then took him down in the third period and rode him out for 4:21 over riding time and the win.

Brent Jones of Virginia, ranked 20^th in the country beat D.J. Bruce 2-1 at 197 pounds. Both wrestlers used escapes in their period, but Bruce was dinged for two stall warnings, giving Jones the deciding point and the win to make it 9-3, Cavaliers. At heavyweight, David Marone had his way with Calvin Cardillo as he picked up five takedowns in recording a 13-6 win. Marone had the major decision in hand, but gave up a takedown to Cardillo at the buzzer to save the Cavs a critical point.

Moving to the little guys, the 13^th-ranked Garnett gave Tech its first lead of the day when he picked up a second-period pin of Wyatt Anderson at 125 pounds. Garnett picked up four easy takedowns before putting Anderson on his back and sticking him halfway through the second stanza.

At 133 pounds, UVa’s Matt Bonson tied the match up with an 8-4 decision over Tech’s Will Livingston, setting the stage for an exciting last three bouts. Chris Diaz, ranked 20^th in the country, picked up a takedown 10 seconds into the match and made it hold up as he won 3-2.

Pete Yates, ranked 20^th in the country, rolled to a 9-3 win over Pete Ferrara to make it 18-12 with just one match remaining. Yates got a takedown and three near fall points early and had a big lead late, but again, UVa picked up a takedown late to avoid the major decision.

In the final match, Jesse Dong picked up a takedown early and held on for a hard-fought 3-0 win over Jedd Moore at 157 pounds. Needing only not to get pinned to win, Dong gave the fans in attendance a brief scare when Moore flipped Dong to his back briefly in the second period. But Dong wiggled free without giving up any back points. He eventually escaped and led 3-0 heading to the final period.

Tech (16-1, 1-0 ACC) will continue with ACC competition on Sunday, taking on the University of North Carolina (10-6) at Fetzer Gym in a 1 o’clock match at Chapel Hill. UNC is 3-0 in the ACC and 10-6 overall.

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