BLACKSBURG - Redshirt senior David Marone of the Virginia Tech wrestling team will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee Sunday in a dual match at Ohio State. Marone, a heavyweight from Broomfield, Colo., was ranked in the top 20 of the polls with a 5-0 record before the injury.
He redshirted two seasons ago due to a shoulder surgery, thus making him eligible to apply for a sixth year of eligibility, should he choose to do so. That process can’t be done until after the season. Head coach Kevin Dresser announced that in his place, the redshirt will be pulled off junior Chris Penny, who is 8-0 after winning the Wolfpack and Ashland Opens the past two weekends at heavyweight. He wrestled at 197 pounds his first three seasons.
The news is a little better for freshman 149-pounder Nick Brascetta. Originally feared to be a break, after X-Rays it was determined that he has a high ankle sprain in his right ankle and will miss 4-6 weeks. Because it’s so early, he could redshirt if he doesn’t wrestle any more this season, but that determination won’t be made until January. He will be replaced by either Chris Mears or Nick Murray this weekend.
The Hokies (1-1) take on in-state rival Virginia Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. Match time is 1 p.m. UVa will have a link to live stats on its website and FloWrestling will be in attendance to do a live Internet broadcast.
The Hokies have been on top of late, winning the last five matches against UVa to take a 35-26-1 lead in a series that dates back to 1922. The last time Virginia beat the Hokies was in 2008 in the ACC dual match. Tech has won 15-straight ACC dual matches dating back to 2008.
Below is the probable lineup for the Hokies and Hoos Sunday:
#15 Virginia Tech (1-1)
125: Ty Mitch (5-0 overall; 1-0 dual)
133: #7 Devin Carter (9-1 overall; 1-1 dual)
141: Zach Neibert (0-1 overall; 0-1 dual)
149: Chris Mears (7-4 overall; 0-0 dual) or Nick Murray (16-5 overall; 0-0 dual)
157: #5 Jesse Dong (6-0 overall; 2-0 dual)
165: #14 Pete Yates (7-0 overall; 2-0 dual)
174: Chris Moon (3-4 overall; 0-2 dual)
184: John Dickson (5-4 overall; 1-1 dual)
197: #16 Nick Vetterlein (9-1 overall; 2-0 dual)
285: Chris Penny (8-0 overall; 0-0 dual)
Virginia
125: #9 Matt Snyder
133: Matt Nelson
141: #18 Nick Nelson
149: Shawn Harris
157: Jedd Moore
165: Nick Sulzer
174: Billy Coggins or Vinny Waldhauser
184: #14 Jon Fausey
197: Ryan Malo
285: Ethan Hayes
For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).