February 12, 2012
Hokies split at National Duals
Vetterlein picks up pair of wins for Tech
F
(19) Virginia9
(10) Virginia Tech 21

AMES, Iowa - The Virginia Tech wrestling team split a pair of matches Sunday at the inaugural NWCA National Duals on the campus of Iowa State University. The fourth-seeded Hokies rallied to defeat fifth-seeded Northern Iowa in the opener 20-17 before falling to top-seeded Iowa 31-3 to get eliminated.

In the opener, Tech fell behind 7-0 before 20th-ranked Zach Neibert picked up a major decision at 141 pounds, followed by a win from freshman Nick Brascetta at 149 pounds. The Panthers picked up a win at 157 pounds before seventh-ranked Pete Yates won at 165 pounds. The big win of the match came at 174 pounds when Chris Moon pinned Omni Prestidge just 56 seconds in to give Tech a 16-10 lead. That would be big bonus points as both teams won five matches. Nick Vetterlein picked up a major decision to all but seal the win for the Hokies.

With the win, Tech moved on to face top-seeded Iowa in the second round, but was no match for the fifth-ranked Hawkeyes. Vetterlein was the only Hokie to pick up a win as he downed Tomas Lira 11-7 at 197 pounds.

Tech (8-5) will be back in action next weekend, traveling to Washington, D.C. to take on American on Sunday at 2 p.m.

#23 Virginia Tech 20, Northern Iowa 17
125: Crush Aarhus (UNI) dec. Ty Mitch, 7-4
133: #11 Joe Colon (UNI) maj. dec. #1 Devin Carter, 13-3
141: #20 Zach Neibert (VT) maj. dec. Levi Wolfensperger, 10-2
149: Nick Brascetta (VT) dec. Ryan Jauch, 3-0
157: David Bonin (UNI) dec. Cameron Hurd, 10-4
165: #7 Pete Yates (VT) dec. Riley Banach, 12-5
174: Chris Moon (VT) fall Onni Prestidge, 0:56
184: #6 Ryan Loder (UNI) maj. dec. John Dickson, 8-0
197: Nick Vetterlein (VT) maj. dec. Tayler Kettman, 13-5
285: Blayne Beale (UNI) dec. Chris Penny, 8-3

#5 Iowa 31, #23 Virginia Tech 3
125: #1 Matt McDonough (I) maj. dec. Erik Spjut, 16-5
133: #4 Tony Ramos (I) dec. #1 Devin Carter, 3-2
141: #6 Montell Marion (I) maj. dec. #20 Zach Neibert, 13-2
149: Mike Kelly (I) dec. Nick Brascetta, 2-1
157: Nick Moore (I) dec. Matt Stephens, 5-2
165: #8 Mike Evans (I) maj. dec. #7 Pete Yates, 9-0
174: #9 Ethan Lofthouse (I) maj. dec. Chris Moon, 13-3
184: Vinnie Wagner (I) dec. John Dickson, 9-2
197: Nick Vetterlein (VT) dec. Tomas Lira, 11-7
285: #14 Bobby Telford (I) dec. Chris Penny, 4-2

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

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