Three Virginia teams in Virginia Duals National College semifinals
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by Jason Bryant
By Jason Bryant, Mat Talk Online
In the past, part of the allure of the Virginia Duals was bringing in nationally-ranked college teams to compete in a dual meet advancement format.
With the improvement of three of Virginia’s bigger wrestling programs, those nationally-ranked teams simply have to drive to the Hampton Coliseum from within the state’s borders.
Virginia Tech, Virginia, Old Dominion and Edinboro all emerged as champions of their respective pools on Friday at the 35th annual Virginia Duals in Hampton, Virginia.
Virginia Tech, ranked sixth by the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll won the Hampton River Pool by defeating Kent State 29-15 and Arizona State 25-15. The Hokies will face 24th-ranked Old Dominion, who beat No. 25 Bucknell 27-10 and Nebraska-Kearney, the third-ranked team in Division II, 39-6.
The Poquoson River Pool winner, No. 16 Virginia, will face No. 10 Edinboro, winner of the James River Pool. Virginia edged No. 17 Rider 20-15 in the pool finale and opened up with a 26-12 win over The Citadel. Edinboro had two tight wins as the Fighting Scots were wrestling without two-time All-American A.J. Schopp, who didn’t make the trip. Edinboro opened with a 21-17 win over Chattanooga before dispatching former EWL rival West Virginia 21-16.
With only 12 teams in the National College Division, a pool format was instituted this year to maximize matches for all the teams competing.
In the American College Division, Division II UNC Pembroke opened up with a come-from-behind win over Central Florida of the NCWA 24-19. The Braves will face Nassau Community College, which topped Division II Wheeling Jesuit 28-12. Division II Anderson topped Division III Ferrum 25-18 and will face NCWA Liberty in the semifinals. Liberty topped fellow NCWA member Apprentice 40-12 to advance.
The semifinals start at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Brackets were completely busted in the National High School Division, where No. 8 seed Council Rock South of Pennsylvania upended top-seeded and returning champion Don Bosco Prep of New Jersey 46-21 in the quarterfinals. Council Rock South will face unseeded St. Augustine Prep of New Jersey in the semifinals. St. Augustine Prep knocked off No. 4 McDonogh School of Maryland 41-25.
In the bottom half of the bracket, longtime Virginia Duals participant Nazareth (Pa.) knocked off third-seeded Arvada West of Colorado in an exciting 35-34 dual. The Blue Eagles will face second-seeded Colonial Forge of Virignia, which topped South Plainfield (N.J.)
Two other high school divisions took to the mat on Friday night with the American High School Division and the Black & Blue High School Division. All event results and live streaming information can be found at www.virginiaduals.org and trackwrestling.com
In the past, part of the allure of the Virginia Duals was bringing in nationally-ranked college teams to compete in a dual meet advancement format.
With the improvement of three of Virginia’s bigger wrestling programs, those nationally-ranked teams simply have to drive to the Hampton Coliseum from within the state’s borders.
Virginia Tech, Virginia, Old Dominion and Edinboro all emerged as champions of their respective pools on Friday at the 35th annual Virginia Duals in Hampton, Virginia.
Virginia Tech, ranked sixth by the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll won the Hampton River Pool by defeating Kent State 29-15 and Arizona State 25-15. The Hokies will face 24th-ranked Old Dominion, who beat No. 25 Bucknell 27-10 and Nebraska-Kearney, the third-ranked team in Division II, 39-6.
The Poquoson River Pool winner, No. 16 Virginia, will face No. 10 Edinboro, winner of the James River Pool. Virginia edged No. 17 Rider 20-15 in the pool finale and opened up with a 26-12 win over The Citadel. Edinboro had two tight wins as the Fighting Scots were wrestling without two-time All-American A.J. Schopp, who didn’t make the trip. Edinboro opened with a 21-17 win over Chattanooga before dispatching former EWL rival West Virginia 21-16.
With only 12 teams in the National College Division, a pool format was instituted this year to maximize matches for all the teams competing.
In the American College Division, Division II UNC Pembroke opened up with a come-from-behind win over Central Florida of the NCWA 24-19. The Braves will face Nassau Community College, which topped Division II Wheeling Jesuit 28-12. Division II Anderson topped Division III Ferrum 25-18 and will face NCWA Liberty in the semifinals. Liberty topped fellow NCWA member Apprentice 40-12 to advance.
The semifinals start at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Brackets were completely busted in the National High School Division, where No. 8 seed Council Rock South of Pennsylvania upended top-seeded and returning champion Don Bosco Prep of New Jersey 46-21 in the quarterfinals. Council Rock South will face unseeded St. Augustine Prep of New Jersey in the semifinals. St. Augustine Prep knocked off No. 4 McDonogh School of Maryland 41-25.
In the bottom half of the bracket, longtime Virginia Duals participant Nazareth (Pa.) knocked off third-seeded Arvada West of Colorado in an exciting 35-34 dual. The Blue Eagles will face second-seeded Colonial Forge of Virignia, which topped South Plainfield (N.J.)
Two other high school divisions took to the mat on Friday night with the American High School Division and the Black & Blue High School Division. All event results and live streaming information can be found at www.virginiaduals.org and trackwrestling.com
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