CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The No. 16 Old Dominion wrestling team fell to No. 23 Virginia, 21-16, on the road in its opening dual meet of the season. The match came down to the final bout, but the Cavaliers’ Fox Baldwin picked up a 6-1 decision victory over ODU’s Brooks Climmons to seal the meet.
"We had our chances to win this dual," head coach Steve Martin said. "You have to give UVA credit, as they came up with some key victories in a couple matches that could have gone either way. From a performance standpoint, we have to put more pressure on our opponents and score more points so we don't put ourselves in so many close matches. Dechow, Mecate, Richardson and Wright all executed their attacks consistently, so they controlled their matches. As a team, we will continue to improve over the course of the season. The good news is that the NCAA Tournament is still four months away. We will go back to the drawing board tomorrow and continue to get better each day."
Beginning at 184, ODU’s seventh-ranked Jack Dechow got the Monarchs off to a strong start with a 14-2 major decision victory over Tyler Askey. Dechow, who held a 6-2 advantage after two periods, exploded in the third to clinch the bonus-point win.
After Austin Coburn narrowly fell to Virginia’s No. 10 Zach Nye by a hard-fought 5-2 decision, UVA’s Patrick Gillen secured a fall in the second period of the 285 bout over John D’Agostino to extend the Cavaliers’ lead to 9-4.
Virginia picked up a pair of decisions in the lightweights, as Nick Herrmann pulled out a 5-2 win over ODU’s Brandon Jeske at 125 before No. 10 George DiCamillo defeated Emilio Saavedra, 8-2.
The Monarchs answered back in the next two bouts, though, as sixth-ranked Chris Mecate accumulated 5:36 in riding time to defeat Zach Watson, 4-0, and Alexander Richardson, ranked sixth for ODU, pinned UVA’s Chris Yankowich in the second period to narrow the Cavaliers’ lead to 15-13 after the 149-pound bout.
At 157, Virginia’s No. 19 Andrew Atkinson defeated Austin Eads by a 10-4 final score, extending the Cavaliers’ lead to 18-13 with just two bouts remaining. Monarch true freshman Seldon Wright responded at 165, earning a 6-5 victory over Garrett Peppelman to cut the UVA lead to 18-16 entering the final matchup.
Virginia’s Fox Baldwin then clinched the dual meet for the hosting Cavaliers, turning in a 6-1 decision over Brooks Climmons.
The Monarchs are back in action Saturday, Nov. 21 for a double-dual meet with Cal Poly and San Francisco State in Gilroy, California. ODU takes on Cal Poly at 6 p.m. EST and San Francisco State at 9 p.m.
No. 23 Virginia 21 No. 16 Old Dominion 16
184: No. 7 Jack Dechow (ODU) over Tyler Askey (UVA) MD 14-2
197: No. 10 Zach Nye (UVA) over Austin Coburn dec. 5-2
285: Patrick Gillen (UVA) over John D’Agostino (ODU) Fall 3:24
125: Nick Herrmann (UVA) over Brandon Jeske (ODU) dec. 5-2
133: No. 10 George DiCamillo (UVA) over Emilio Saavedra (ODU) dec. 8-2
141: No. 6 Chris Mecate (ODU) over Zach Watson (UVA) dec. 4-0
149: No. 4 Alexander Richardson (ODU) over Chris Yankowich (UVA) Fall 4:07
157: No. 19 Andrew Atkinson (UVA) over Austin Eads (ODU) dec. 10-4
165: Seldon Wright (ODU) over Garrett Peppelman (UVA) dec. 9-5
174: Fox Baldwin (UVA) over Brooks Climmons (ODU) dec. 6-1
VOUCHER BOOKS
Take advantage of the great offer to attend ODU wrestling matches through the ODU Wrestling Season Ticket Voucher Book available online here. Each voucher book contains 12 vouchers. These vouchers are good for any regular season ODU home wrestling match during the 2015-2016 season.
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