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HAMPTON, Va. - The short-handed Virginia Tech wrestling squad put up a good fight, but a key forfeit and having to wrestle back-ups down the stretch proved to be too much as they fell to 14th-ranked and fourth-seeded Penn State, 26-9, Friday morning in the opening round of the Virginia Duals.

While the Hokies lost the war, they won one huge battle. At 157 pounds, Jesse Dong continued his hot start to the season with an impressive 5-4 win over second-ranked Cyler Sanderson. Dong, a sophomore from Westerville, Ohio, trailed 4-1 after the first period, but rode Sanderson out in the second stanza. Trailing 4-1 in the final period, Dong picked up an escape and then took down Sanderson down and rode him out. With over three minutes of riding time, Dong picked up the 5-4 win to hand Sanderson just his second loss of the season.

In the first match of the day, 13th-ranked Jarrod Garnett fell to 12th-ranked Brad Pataky, 12-6. Garnett pinned Pataky late in the finals of the Penn State Open but couldn't muster the magic again. At 133 pounds, Brock LiVorio picked up a tough 5-3 win over Bryan Pearsall to tie the match up. Moving to 141 pounds, Tech’s Chris Diaz controlled the pace of the match and picked up a 9-6 decision over Adam Lynch before No. 5 Frank Molinaro of PSU beat Tech freshman Brian Stephens 6-1 at 149 pounds. Penn State tied it up when eighth-ranked Dan Vallimont held on for a hard-fought 4-3 win over Matt Epperly at 165 pounds.

Tied at 9-9 after six matches, Tech had to give up a crippling forfeit at 174 pounds with Anthony Trongone out to give PSU a 15-9 lead. At 184 pounds, Tommy Spellman got nothing going against 14th-ranked David Erwin, losing 3-0 to make it 18-9 and pretty much ending things. At 197 pounds, Chris Penny fell to Clay Steadman, 4-1, and then 18th-ranked Cameron Wade rolled to a 16-0 technical fall over Tim Miller to wrap up the match. With three heavyweights out for Tech, Miller bumped up from 197 pounds to try and help the team, but was severely outweighed and was worn down by Wade.

Tech (7-2) will now face Drexel (4-5) in the consolations at 1 p.m., today. Should the Hokies win, they’d go again Saturday at 10 a.m., and should they lose, they would go at 5 o’clock today in what will be their last match of the tournament.

#14 Penn State (7-1-1) 26, #24 Virginia Tech (7-2) 9
125: #12 Brad Pataky (PSU) dec. #13 Jarrod Garnett, 12-6
133: Brock LiVorio (VT) dec. Bryan Pearsall, 5-3
141: #12 Chris Diaz (VT) dec. Adam Lynch, 9-6
149: #5 Frank Molinaro (PSU) dec. Brian Stephens, 6-1
157: #7 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. #2 Cyler Sanderson, 5-4
165: #8 Dan Vallimont (PSU) dec. Matt Epperly, 4-3
174: Justin Ortega (PSU) wins by forfeit
184: #14 David Erwin (PSU) dec. Tommy Spellman, 3-0
197: Clay Steadman (PSU) dec. Chris Penny, 4-1
285: #18 Cameron Wade (PSU) tech fall Tim Miller, 16-0

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