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"We turned some matches around from the Southern Scuffle and we made progress today," said head coach Kevin Dresser. "We can turn around some more and we need to at the ACCs. We know we're going in the right direction because we wrestled better today than we did yesterday against Virginia. It's getting down to the nitty gritty now and we have to continue to get better every week.:
Garnett got the Hokies off to a fast start with a pin at 125 pounds. The freshman picked up four takedowns and then finally picked up the fall with 16 seconds left in the match to give Tech an early 6-0 lead. Brock LiVorio got the call at 133 pounds for the Hokies but couldn’t overcome a 4-1 first-period deficit and lost 8-5 to Mike Rappo.
The featured matches came next as first No. 20 Chris Diaz of Tech took on No. 18 Vincent Ramirez of UNC. Neither man showed much offense in the first two periods as Diaz held a 1-0 advantage heading into the third period thanks to an escape in the second. Ramirez tried a roll reverse but Diaz hopped around him and caught him on his back for two near fall points. He picked up three more near fall points later and got a point for riding Ramirez the whole third period en route to a dominating 7-0 win.
At 149 pounds, No. 20 Pete Yates and No. 15 Nick Stabile took the mat. Yates got a takedown in the first period for an early lead. After riding Stabile for much of the second period, Yates let Stabile go and promptly took him down again for a 4-2 lead heading to the final stanza. Stabile rode Yates the whole third period and picked up a point when Yates was dinged for two stall warnings, but Yates held on for the 4-3 win to give Tech a 12-3 lead through four bouts.
At 157 pounds, Jesse Dong fell 4-2 to Thomas Scotton in sudden victory. Dong escaped in the second period to take a 1-0 lead and Scotton chose the neutral position to the start the third period. He took down Dong with about 30 seconds left and Dong escaped late to force overtime. Scotton picked up the takedown early in the period to end the match.
Keegan Mueller, ranked 16th in the country, brought the Tar Heels closer with a 5-2 decision over Tech’s Matt Epperly at 165 pounds in a rematch of last year’s ACC final. Mueller got a takedown in the first period, a reversal in the second and then rode Epperly the third period for the win.
Moving to 174 pounds, Trongone picked up two quick takedowns in the first period en route to a 9-1 major decision win over Robert McCarthy to give Tech a seven-point lead with three matches left. Tommy Spellman produced a workmanlike 4-0 win over Daniel Llamas where he picked up a reversal and over three minutes of riding time.
Seventeenth-ranked Dennis Drury of UNC picked up a takedown with 30 seconds left to help win 4-2 over D.J. Bruce at 197 pounds. Justin Dobies used a first-period takedown and an escape in the third period to beat Tech’s David Marone 3-2 at heavyweight to end the match.
Tech will take the week off before hosting defending ACC Champion Maryland Sunday at 5 p.m., in Cassell Coliseum following the men’s basketball game. The program is trying to break the attendance record of nearly 1,700 set against No. 1 Minnesota in 2001. Numerous promotions are planned. Check back later in the week for a preview of the festivities.
For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).
