University of Virginia Library

Grapplers Defeat ODU
For Fifth Straight Win

BY FLETCHER THOMPSON

While Virginia basketball
fans suffered through the
hair-raising escapades of the
slumping Wahoos, followers of
the wrestling team could revel
in the fact that the grapplers
padded their winning streak to
five last Saturday.

The Cavaliers' latest victory
was a 24-12 defeat of Old
Dominion University, which
left them undefeated for the
month of February and
brought their dual meet record
to 8-4.

Before the match coach
George Edwards expressed
doubts about his team's chances,
due to the absence of three
regulars and the nebulous
caliber of the ODU team.
Missing from the lineup were
126-pounder John Pitas with
bruised ribs, 134-pounder Tom
Pavia, who is out for the
season after hyper-extending
his arm for the second time,
and 158-pounder Tom
Derrickson with a pulled
muscle.

Things came out well for
the matmen, however, as ODU
was too weak to capitalize on
Virginia's injuries, although
Edwards commented that his
team was "not too sharp." He
attributed this sub-par
performance to the fact that
the grapplers were probably
looking ahead to the ACC
Tournament this weekend.

118 pounder, Dave Wendell
again got the Cavaliers off to a
good start by trou OD
Tim McCarthy. 9-4. They ran
into trouble after thou
as they managed to take only
one match in the next five and
fell behind 12-6. During that
span all they could muster was
a 2-1 squeaker by 142-pounder
Don Drew while Ed Fink,
Steve Schmidt, Denny
Kershner, and Denis
Bittenbender fell to more
seasoned Monarch opponents.

Then Jay Douglas ignited
the Cavalier rally in the upper
weights by scoring a 9-0
decision in the 167 pound
class. The grapplers clinched
the victory with a third period
fall by Keven Michaels at 177
and a forfeit to Fenton Priest
at 190. Heavyweight Bill
Farrell continued his late
season surge by knocking off
his man, 4-1.

The victory closed out the
dual meet season for the
matmen, who have only the
ACC and NCAA Tournaments
remaining. The ACC Tourney,
which will be held this Friday
and Saturday at Maryland, is
particularly crucial this year
because it serves as the
qualifying round for the
national championships also at
Maryland on March 9-11.

Only the winners will
qualify and Maryland's
Terrapins, who have won every
ACC wrestling championship
in the history of the league,
seem to be the odds on
favorites to send the most
representatives. Of the
Cavaliers, first yearman Dave
Wendell and third-yearman
Michaels appear to be the most
likely winners with Pitas,
Bittenbender and Derrickson
also having good shots.