No. 7 Virginia Tech cruised past Appalachian State 39-0 on Friday night at the Center for the Arts in Blacksburg.
The Hokies (6-2, 1-0 ACC) controlled the dual from the opening whistle, winning all 10 bouts and securing six bonus-point victories to earn the shutout. Tech dominated throughout and never allowed the Mountaineers (5-5, 2-0 SoCon) to generate momentum.
Here is a bout-by-bout recap of how the match unfolded.
157: No. 16 Ethen Miller (VT) 6, Jeremiah Price (App State) 3
Miller set the tone in the opening bout of the night, scoring a takedown and a tilt in the first period to build an early lead. Price answered in the third period with a reversal after starting from the bottom, but Miller held on for a 6-3 decision.
Tech got off to a 3-0 lead to start the match.
165: Mac Church (VT) 9, Anthony Conetta (App State) 0
The second bout of the night opened slowly and remained scoreless after the first period. Church escaped from the bottom to start the second period, then added a takedown and a near fall to take an 8-0 lead. He controlled the match from the top in the third period to earn a 9-0 major decision.
That extended Virginia Tech’s lead to 7-0
174: Sergio Desiante (VT) 18, Joe Zovitski (App State) 2
Desiante turned in one of the most dominant performances of the night. He recorded a takedown in the first period and controlled more than two minutes of riding time to take a 3-0 lead. Starting on the bottom in the second period, he escaped quickly before taking over the match, piling up three takedowns and a near fall to secure an 18-2 technical fall (4:32).
Tech had a 12-0 advantage through the first three bouts.
184: Jaden Bullock (VT) 8, No. 25 Tomas Brooker (App State) 6
Facing Appalachian State’s top-ranked wrestler, Bullock pulled off a top-25 upset.
He scored two early takedowns — though Brooker escaped after each — and built a 7-2 lead. Brooker cut into the deficit with an escape and a takedown in the third period to pull within two points in the final 30 seconds, but Bullock held on for an 8-6 decision.
After four matches, Tech led 15-0.
197: No. 17 Sonny Sasso (VT) 8, Logan Eller (App State) 0
Sasso controlled the bout the whole way, building a 4-0 lead early in the second period. He extended the advantage with a takedown to make it 7-0, then shut down a third-period escape attempt while adding enough riding time to earn a bonus point and an 8-0 major decision.
With Sasso’s major decision, Virginia Tech extended its cushion to 19-0.
285: No. 16 Jimmy Mullen (VT) 12, Stephan Monchery (App State) 6
Mullen capped the upper weights with a hard-fought bout. The two heavyweights were tied at four after the first period, with each wrestler trading a takedown and an escape.
Monchery briefly took the lead early in the second with an escape, but Mullen responded with a pair of takedowns, added an escape and secured the riding-time point to earn a 12-6 decision.
Tech extended its margin to 22-0 with Mullen’s win.
125: No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (VT) 20, Colby McBride (App State) 5
Continuing his dominant season, Ventresca controlled the bout from start to finish.
He scored a pair of first-period takedowns and added more than a minute of riding time to take a 6-1 lead into the second period. Ventresca escaped to open the second and followed with another takedown to extend the advantage to 10-2 heading into the third.
Ventresca put the match away in the final period, repeatedly scoring takedowns while allowing McBride to escape. He finished with three takedowns in the third and secured a riding-time bonus to earn a 20-5 tech fall (6:49).
That padded Virginia Tech’s lead, making it 27-0.
133: No. 11 Dillon Campbell (VT) 4, Jarvis Little (App State) 0
Known as more of a defensive wrestler, Campbell was not the aggressor but controlled the bout through riding time and timely escapes.
He held a 1-0 lead after two periods following a stalling call. Campbell opened the third period with an escape, and another stalling call on Little extended the margin to 3-0. A riding-time bonus sealed a 4-0 decision.
That put Tech a 30-0 lead with two bouts remaining.
141: Drew Gorman (VT) 16, Aldo Hernandez (App State) 0
In his dual debut, Gorman delivered a dominant performance, controlling Hernandez from start to finish. He set the tone early with a takedown and a near fall in the first period to build a 7-0 lead. Gorman added an escape to carry an 8-0 advantage into the third period, where he scored two more near falls to secure a 16-0 technical fall at 6:12.
Gorman’s first career dual win gave Virginia Tech a 35-0 lead.
149: No. 10 Collin Gaj (VT) 10, No. 33 Kaden Keiser (App State) 2
The final bout of the night featured the dual’s lone ranked matchup. Gaj responded after falling behind 1-0 following a Keiser escape early in the second period. He answered with a takedown and later an escape to take a 3-2 lead, then pulled away by scoring two nearfalls to earn a 10-2 major decision.
Gaj capped off the Hokies’ 39-0 victory over the Mountaineers. Virginia Tech is back in action in Cassell Coliseum on Friday, Jan. 23, when it hosts Stanford.
Results: No. 7 Virginia Tech 39, Appalachian State 0
• 157: No. 16 Ethen Miller (VT) 6, Jeremiah Price (App State) 3
• 165: Mac Church (VT) 9, Anthony Conetta (App State) 0
• 174: Sergio Desiante (VT) 18, Joe Zovitski (App State) 2
• 184: Jaden Bullock (VT) 8, No. 25 Tomas Brooker (App State) 6
• 197: No. 17 Sonny Sasso (VT) 8, Logan Eller (App State) 0
• 285: No. 16 Jimmy Mullen (VT) 12, Stephan Monchery (App State) 6
• 125: No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (VT) 20, Colby McBride (App State) 5
• 133: No. 11 Dillon Campbell (VT) 4, Jarvis Little (App State) 0
• 141: Drew Gorman (VT) 16, Aldo Hernandez (App State) 0
• 149: No. 10 Collin Gaj (VT) 10, No. 33 Kaden Keiser (App State) 2