BLACKSBURG - Two late pins and an upset at 174 pounds sparked the Virginia Tech wrestling squad to a 21-16, come-from-behind victory over Appalachian State Sunday evening at Cassell Coliseum.

The Hokies found themselves in a quick 10-0 hole after dropping the first three matches. At 141 pounds, Chris Diaz fell to Marcus Cox, 5-3 and Matt Rosen dropped a 10-2 major decision to No. 5 Scott Ervin at 149 pounds. Andre Johnson bumped up to 157 pounds, but was dealt a 7-1 loss by Eddie Hutchinson to make it 10-0.

At 165 pounds, Matt Epperly made his return to the mat and came up with a dominating 5-0 victory over Tommy Hutchinson. Epperly missed most of last year, and was granted a medical hardship waiver, after fracturing his back early last season.

The match then moved to 174 pounds, which is where returning NCAA qualifier Eric Decker is residing this year, moving up a weight class. His first opponent at the new class was a tough one in 19^th-ranked Neal Martin. But Decker used a takedown in both the second and third periods to pull off the 4-1 victory. After Tommy Spellman was beaten 8-3 by Austin Trotman at 184 pounds, ASU led 13-6.

Tech then went on a big run over the next three matches to race past the Mountaineers and seal the victory. Starting at 197 pounds, Kevin O'Connor picked up a pin of John Griswold at the 3:57 mark to bring the Hokies within one at 13-12. David Marone moved up to heavyweight and held off a much bigger Jared Campbell late and hung on for the 4-2 win to make it 15-13, Tech.

With two matches left, the bout moved to the lightweights. Freshman Steve Armor got the crowd in a frenzy and iced the match when he stuck Frank Celorrio at the 1:56 mark, making it 21-13. The final bout saw freshman Nick Murray put up a fight, earning an early takedown, but wearing down late as No. 18 Terreyl Williams beat him, 11-6.

It was the first dual match of the season for both teams. Tech (1-0) will head to the East Stroudsburg Open next weekend. Its next dual matches will be Nov. 25 against Drexel (noon) and Penn (5 PM), both on the road.

Virginia Tech       21
Appalachian State   16

141  Marcus Cox (ASU) dec. Chris Diaz, 5-3
149  #5 Scott Ervin (ASU) maj. dec. Matt Rosen, 10-2
157  Eddie Hutchinson (ASU) dec. Andre Johnson, 7-1
165  Matt Epperly (VT) dec. Tommy Hutchinson, 5-0
174  Eric Decker (VT) dec. #19 Neal Martin, 4-1
184  Austin Trotman (ASU) dec. Tommy Spellman, 8-3
197  Kevin O'Connor (VT) fall John Allan Griswold, 3:57
285  David Marone (VT) dec. Jared Campbell, 4-2
125  Steven Armor (VT) fall Frank Celorrio, 1:56
133  #18 Terreyl Williams (ASU) dec. Nick Murray, 11-6

Attendance: 929
Referee: Kevin Neville

Virginia Tech moves to 1-0; Appalachian State falls to 0-1