No. 7 Virginia Tech subdued No. 17 Rutgers 26-11 on Friday night at the Moss Arts Center. The Hokies took seven of 10 matches against the Scarlet Knights, including three bonus-point wins.
Tech (3-0) earned four ranked victories against Rutgers (3-2) in the rout.
No. 4 Lennox Wolak (174) earned the most emphatic win of the night for Hokies, pinning Rutgers’ No. 18 Jackson Turley in the middle of the second period. Ending the first period with a 3-1 advantage, the Columbia transfer began the second on top and worked Turley onto his back to pick up the win by fall, his third of the season.
No. 1 Caleb Henson (149), No. 16 Sam Latona (141) and No. 13 Andy Smith (197) added ranked victories as well.
Henson peppered Rutgers’ No. 33 Michael Cetta with shots throughout the bout, nabbing a takedown in all three periods en route to the 11-1 major decision win. He’s outscored opponents 20-1 in his first two matches this season.
Latona scored on a takedown in the final seconds of his match to beat Rutgers’ No. 22 Joey Oliveri 4-1. He tied the match at one with an escape with 1:07 left in the bout, simultaneously preventing Oliveri from getting over one minute of riding time before collecting the match-winning takedown. It was his fifth straight match without allowing a takedown.
Smith had a similarly dramatic win, fending off Rutgers’ No. 12 John Pozanski in the third period in his 4-3 upset victory. After scoring on a takedown in the first, the Christiansburg native stonewalled Poznanski for the remainder of the match for his second win of the year.
No. 13 Eddie Ventresca (125) and No. 24 Rafael Hipolito Jr. (157) also built on their undefeated campaigns against the Scarlet Knights.
Ventresca took the win over his hometown program in dominant fashion, shutting out Rutgers’ Ayden Smith, 13-0. The Roxbury, N.J., native took Smith down early and turned him for four nearfall points to lead 7-0 at the end of the first period. He added an escape and a takedown in the third to secure the major decision victory and move to 6-0 on the year.
Hipolito Jr. scored on takedowns in the first and second periods to power past Rutgers’ Conner Harer, 7-3. The redshirt freshman has yet to allow a takedown this season through six matches.
Mac Church (165) bounced back from last week’s loss with a gritty 10-8 win over Rutgers’ Andrew Barbosa. With the match tied at seven in the second period, he earned two escape points to eke out his eighth win of the season.
Tech’s three losses came from No. 12 Thomas Stewart Jr. (184), No. 16 Jimmy Mullen (285) and Franky Medina (133).
Stewart wasn’t able to come back against Rutgers’ Shane Cartagena-Walsh after giving up a takedown in the second period, falling 5-1. The defeat dropped his record on the year to 0-2.
Mullen pushed Rutgers’ No. 9 Yaraslau Slavikouski to the limit before falling 4-1 in the sudden victory period. The overtime loss was the redshirt freshman’s first of the season.
Filling in for No. 10 Connor McGongale at 133, Division II transfer Franky Medina fell via tech fall t0 Rutgers’ No. 6 Dylan Shawyver, 19-3.
Virginia Tech travels north on Sunday to Philadelphia, Pa., to compete in the Keystone Classic.
Results: No. 7 Virginia Tech 26, No. 17 Rutgers 11.
125: No. 13 Eddie Ventresca (VT) maj dec. Ayden Smith (RU), 13-0
133: No. 6 Dylan Shawyver (RU) tech fall Franky Medina (VT), 19-3 (4:56)
141: No. 16 Sam Latona (VT) dec. No. 22 Joey Oliveri (RU), 4-1
149: No. 1 Caleb Henson (VT) maj dec. No. 33 Michael Cetta (RU), 11-1
157: No. 24 Rafael Hipolito Jr. (VT) dec. Conner Harer (RU), 7-3
165: Mac Church (VT) dec. Andrew Barbosa (RU), 10-8
174: No. 4 Lennox Wolak (VT) win by fall No. 18 Jackson Turley (RU), 4:21
184: Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU) dec. No. 12 Thomas Stewart Jr. (VT), 5-1
197: No. 13 Andy Smith (VT) dec. No. 12 John Pozanski (RU), 4-3
285: No. 9 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU) dec. No. 16 Jimmy Mullen (VT), 4-1 (SV)