February 8, 2007

NORFOLK, Va. - The Virginia Tech wrestling team suffered a 31-10 defeat at the hands of Old Dominion University Thursday night in the first wrestling match ever at the Ted Constant Convention Center. With the win, the Monarchs improved to 11-6 while the Hokies fell to 5-10.

The Hokies recorded three wins on the evening, all in succession. At 165 pounds, freshman Eric Decker picked up a 5-3 decision over Nick Pullano. At 174 pounds, Steve Ratley used a point for riding time advantage to defeat Derek Coffey 3-2 and pick up his 22^nd win of the season. Tech's final victory came at 184 pounds when senior Steve Borja disposed of Jesse Strawn, earning an 18-7 major decision.

The match opened at 125 pounds with the Hokies forfeiting. At 133 pounds, Tech's Sheridan Moran was shut out by Christian Staylor as Staylor picked up a 15-0 technical fall. At 141 pounds, freshman Matt Rosen fell to Ryan Williams 9-1 to make it 15-0. Moving to 149 pounds, Jon Bonilla-Bowman dropped a close 7-6 decision to Kaylen Bzaxter. In the third period, Baxter earned a critical takedown to put him up two points with just under 20 seconds remaining. The riding time advantage was in favor of Bonilla-Bowman, making the final score 7-6.

After Chesapeake native Derek Gallagher dropped a 17-7 major decision to Chris Brown, the Hokies trailed 22-0, but picked up the three straight victories to make it 22-10. With two matches left, ODU put it away at 197 pounds when David Mendoza pinned Tech's Kevin O'Connor at the 3:42 mark. The night ended with the heavyweights as ODU's Matt Pellar picked up a 6-1 decision over Jim Powers.

The Hokies will jump back into ACC action this weekend, taking on Duke Saturday night at Christiansburg High in a match slated to start at 8 p.m.

Old Dominion (11-6)    31

Virginia Tech (5-10)   10

125: Kyle Hutter (ODU) wins by forfeit

133: Christian Staylor (ODU) tech fall Sheridan Moran, 15-0

141: Ryan Williams (ODU) maj. dec. Matt Rosen, 9-1

149: Kaylen Baxter (ODU) dec. Jon Bonilla-Bowman, 7-6

157: Chris Brown (ODU) maj. dec. Derek Gallagher, 17-7

165: Eric Decker (VT) dec. Nick Pullano, 5-3

174: Steve Ratley (VT) dec. Derek Coffey, 3-2

184: Steve Borja (VT) maj. dec. Jesse Strawn, 18-7

197: David Mendoza (ODU) fall Kevin O'Connor, 3:42

285: Matt Pellar (ODU) dec. Jim Powers, 6-1