No. 22 UNI Wrestling to Host No. 6 Virginia Tech

No. 6 Virginia Tech vs. No. 22 UNI wrestling (NWCA rankings)

7 p.m. Nov. 18
Cedar Falls, Iowa • West Gym

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Tickets ($9.50): www.unipanthers.com/tickets or call (319) 273-4849

COMPLETE NOTES

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI wrestling will get the chance to even the series against No. 6 Virginia Tech when the Hokies visit the West Gym Friday.

UNI trails 2-3 in the series that started in 2004. In their last meeting in 2016, the Hokies edged out the Panthers 19-15:
JAN. 15: #12 Virginia Tech 19, UNI 15
    149 – Trevor Jauch (UNI) dec. Sal Mastriani, 10-3
    157 – Bryce Steiert (UNI) dec. Jake Spengler, 10-4
    165 – #19 Dave McFadden dec. #8 Cooper Moore, 11-5
    174 – Kyle Lux (UNI) dec. David Bergida, 8-2
    184 – #14 Zack Zavatsky (VT) maj. dec. Drew Foster, 13-2
    197 – Jared Bartel (UNI) dec. Austin Gabel, 3-2
    285 – #3 Ty Walz (VT) dec. #15 Blaize Cabell, 5-2
    125 – #3 Joey Dance (VT) pinned Leighton Gaul, 5:36
    133 – #17 Josh Alber (UNI) dec. Dennis Gustafson, 8-3
    141 – #11 Solomon Chishko (VT) dec. #19 Jake Koethe, 8-2

UNI enters the meet with five nationally ranked wrestlers to face VT's six. Panther fans may see the return of Dylan Peters for the first time this season. Peters earned his second All-American title despite competing with a torn ACL at last year's national championships. He has not wrestled yet this season.

HONORARY CAPTAINS / RECOGNITIONS:
Gene "Cubby" Lybbert, a native of Cresco, Iowa, wrestled under coach Dave McCusky at Iowa State Teachers College (UNI) from 1948-1952. He finished third in the NCAAs in 1951 after claiming the NAAU title that same year. He placed second and fourth, respectively, in the NAAU Championships in 1949 and 1950.
He topped off his college career with an undefeated season and national title in 1952.
His coaching career included four seasons at Blue Earth (Minnesota), where he coached three state championship teams and one runner-up.
After graduation from college, he spent two years with the armed forces in Korea.
Lybbert was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1987 and into UNI's Hall of Fame in 1989.
UNI wrestling would like to recognize Steve Hartle, who will be in attendance. Hartle is a two-time All-American for the Panthers. As a sophomore, he was seventh at the 1991 NCAA Division I Championships. He took eighth as a senior in 1993.

MATCH-UPS (Intermat rankings) (Virginia Tech vs. UNI):
125 - #3 Joey Dance, senior (3-0) vs. #2 Dylan Peters, senior (0-0) or Jay Schwarm, redshirt freshman (6-2 / 1-1)

Peters is 0-3 against dance. He has lost by decision two times (10-8, 5-3), and Dance is the only wrestler to hand Peters a fall. Dance became the first true freshman from VT to earn All-American honors with a fourth-place finish in 2014. He is a two-time ACC champion, winning in 2015 and 2016.
Peters is a two-time All-American and needs one more fall to move up to fifth on the all-time career falls list for UNI. He is a three-time national qualifier.
Schwarm made his debut in the dual lineup last week after taking third at the Grand View Open. He earned bonus points in 19 of 20 wins last year.

133 - Dominic Latona, freshman (1-2) vs. Josh Alber, sophomore (6-1 / 2-0)

Latona is fresh off a 2016 Alabama state title at 120 pounds as a prep. He is a two-time state champion and a NHSCH All-American.
Alber qualified for the NCAA tourney last year. He was UNI's highest finisher at Midlands. He was second at this year's Grand View Open and has earned bonus points in all of his wins so far this year with one fall, two tech falls and three major decision.

141 - Dennis Gustafson, junior (3-0) vs. Jake Hodges, junior (6-1 / 2-0) or Jake Koethe, sophomore (8-4 / 0-0)

Gustafson qualified for the NCAA championships after earning an ACC title in 2014 at 133 pounds as a true freshman. He redshirted the next year and went 9-7 for Virginia Tech in 2015-16 as a sophomore.
Hodges was fourth at the 2015 MAC championships at 149 pounds. He moved down last year to wrestle at 141 pounds. He took second at this year's Grand View Open and won his opening duals.
Koethe knocked off two top-20 opponents before suffering an ACL tear that ended his season in 2016. He took fourth at the Grand View Open earlier this month.

149 - #6 Solomon Chishko, sophomore (3-0) vs. Max Thomsen, redshirt freshman (6-0 / 2-0)

Chishko moved up a weight after earning All-American honors as a redshirt freshman with a sixth-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships at 141 pounds. Chishko was runner-up ACC Championship finish at 141 pounds.
Thomsen comes into the dual undefeated and has two falls and two major decisions. He is the 24^th prep wrestler to win four state championships in Iowa.

157 - Sal Mastriani, senior (3-0) or Ryan Blees, sophomore (0-0) vs. Paden Moore, redshirt freshman (5-1 / 1-1) or Bryce Steiert (1-0 / 1-0)

Mastriani qualified for the 2016 NCAA tournament, and went 6-7 in duals last year.
Blees spent his first two seasons at Oklahoma State and posted a 15-6 record.
Moore won the Grand View Open this year and wrestled at two different weights last weekend. He notched a major decision win at 157 pounds and lost 8-5 at 165 pounds.
Steiert was the first true freshman from UNI to qualify for the national tournament since 2003. He won his opening dual and knocked off four top-20 opponents last year.

165 - Mike Ciavarro, junior (1-2) or David McFadden, sophomore (0-0) vs. Isaiah Patton, redshirt freshman (4-2 / 1-0)

Ciavarro went 1-3 in his sophomore campaign wrestling unattached in 2015-16. He has been the starter at 165 pounds this year.
McFadden is a returning All-American after placing sixth last season at the NCAA tournament as a true freshman. He was 13-5 in duals last year.
Patton debuted with a win in the dual lineup last weekend. He placed in five open tournaments last year.

174 - #2 Zach Epperly, junior (3-0) vs. Taylor Lujan, redshirt freshman (6-0 / 2-0)

Epperly is a two-time All-American. He was third in 2016 and seventh in 2015.
Lujan notched the team's fastest fall en route to a Grand View title earlier this month. He won his opening duals this year. He is a four-time state champion out of Georgia as a prep.

184 - #9 Zach Zavatsky, sophomore (3-0) vs. Drew Foster, sophomore (5-0 / 2-0) or Jacob Holschlag, redshirt freshman (3-0 / 1-0)

Zavatsky knocked off No. 2 seed Pete Randa to win the ACC championships last year and earn an automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Championships. Randa finished third at the NCAAs. Zavatsky beat Foster 13-2 last year at Virginia Tech.
Foster is undefeated in duals at two weights. Last weekend, he earned a tech fall at 197 pounds and dropped down a weight to win by major decision at 184 pounds. He took fifth in the 184-pound weight class at the MAC Championships after wrestling much of the of the season at 174 pounds.
Holschlag debuted in the Panther dual lineup last weekend with a decision. He won his first two matches this year by fall and tech fall.

197 - #3 Jared Haught, junior (3-0) vs. Jared Bartel, senior (0-1 / 0-1)

Haught finished sixth at the NCAAs last year to earn an All-American title. He is a two-time NCAA qualifier and finished second at the ACC Championships.
Bartel is no stranger to top-20 matchups. He's faced eight in his career, with four of them being last year. He was sixth at the MAC Championships in 2014.

285 - #3 Ty Walz, senior (1-0) vs. JJ Everard, senior (4-2 / 2-0)

Two-time All-American Walz is coming off his highest finish at the NCAA tournament. He took fourth last year and was seventh in 2015.
Walz earned ACC Wrestler of the Week for his win over No. 11 Jared Johnson of Chattanooga. With the score tied at 5-5 entering the third period, Walz used three takedowns to pick up the 13-7 decision,
Everard qualified for the 2015 NCAA tournament competing for South Dakota State. He transferred to UNI, where he redshirted last season.

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