University of Virginia Library

Edwards Named
Coach Of Year

Virginia wrestling coach George
Edwards has been selected as the
Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling
coach of the year.

In his first year Coach Edwards
has brought the wrestling fortunes
of Virginia to a point nothing less
than promising. Last season under
coach Mike Caruso, the three time
NCAA champ at 123 lbs., the
Cavalier grapplers compiled a miserable
2-6 mark. Soon after coach
Caruso departed and returned to his
alma mater, Lehigh.

The first thing Edwards did this
season was to start a campaign to
get to know his players. A rapport
between Edwards and his team
materialized and proved advantageous.

Led by co-captain Tom Moore,
Coach Edwards started on the trail
to a 5 and 3 season. The season
opened with a home win against
Duke. After a loss to NC State, the
Cavaliers defeated Gettysburg and
North Carolina in succession.

The second semester started
with a loss to the ACC champion
Maryland. The Edwards-led grapplers
then conquered VMI and
Washington and Lee before ending
the season on a loss to VPI.

Last weekend the true Virginia
prowess emerged as the grapplers
placed second in the ACC tournament
at Maryland. Virginia placed
five men in the final round with
John Pegues coming out with the
only title at 137. The entire team
placed second to Maryland with a
creditable point production of 65.

If anyone is responsible for this
year's success it must be Coach
Edwards. After serving as assistant
coach at his alma mater, Penn
State, where he won three letters
and captained the 1964 squad, he
moved onto Charlottesville in the
fall of 1968. He knew little about
Virginia wrestling but was eager to
learn. He held early season meetings
just to get to know his players and
instill in them a sense of pride and
confidence.

Asked to what he attributed the
success of this year's team, he
replied, "Conditioning. I thought
we needed this more than anything.
In fact many coaches at last
weekend's tournament told me we
had the best conditioned team in
the conference. This included Maryland."

The toughest problem facing
Edwards is the upcoming recruiting
campaign. Not able to grant any
financial aid to top prospects,
Edwards believes most of these top
prospects will go to schools that
have scholarships available to
wrestlers, but is hopeful of landing
a few good boys.