Flashes Split on Day One of Virginia Duals

Friday, January 10

Hampton, Va.

11:00 a.m.

Kent State University

University of Virginia

Photo by: Scott R. Galvin/Galvin Photo, LL

Flashes Split on Day One of Virginia Duals

1/10/2020 5:01:00 PM | Wrestling

HAMPTON, VA- Kent State split their first two matches at the Virginia Duals, falling to #22 Virginia in a tightly contested dual and besting the Penn Quakers 27-12.

The Golden Flashes got 2-0 performances from Tim Rooney, Kody Komara, Andrew McNally and Lane Hinkle on Friday.

Against the #22 Cavaliers, Rooney gave Kent State a huge boost as he defeated Louie Hayes by a 3-1 decision. Hayes came into the meet as the #18 wrestler in the NCAA at 133 pounds according to InterMat. At 149, Kody Komara used a near fall to take control of his match with Denton Spencer, rolling to a 7-2 victory, tying the dual at 6-6. After the Cavaliers took the matches at 157 and 165, Andrew McNally rallied back to earn a win at 174 pounds. Trailing 6-4 late in the third period, McNally scored a reversal to tie the match at six and was awarded a four-point near fall as time was expiring to complete the comeback. Wrestling for the first time since Cleveland State, Lane Hinkle put on a master class in defense, scoring a 4-0 shutout over Michael Battista, closing the Virginia lead to 14-12. Colin McCracken battled Jay Aiello, who came in to the match as the #9 wrestler at 197, but came up on the short end of a 6-4 decision. The Cavaliers would get a second-period fall at heavyweight to take the match 23-12.

The Penn Quakers came into the day at #20 in the Mid-Major wrestling rankings, but dropped their opening dual to Old Dominion. The Quakers took an early lead in the dual as Michael Colaiocco, the #9 wrestler at 125, won a decision over Tomas Gutierrez. Rooney picked up his first fall of the season capping a dominant performance against Carmen Ferrante early in the second period. The schools would split the next two decisions at 141 and 149, respectfully. Komara picked up his second win of the day with a narrow 3-2 decision. Kade Byland took control of his match at 165 early and his 11-5 victory by decision helped tip the dual into the Flashes favor. Andrew McNally dominated in his 6-1 win at 174 while Lane Hinkle was awarded the victory after Jesse Quatse had to forfeit due to a bad ankle. Spencer Berthold capped the impressive win with his second fall in his last three matches, pinning Ben Goldin early in the second period.

With the split, Kent State advances in the consolation bracket to face the loser of Rider and Maryland tomorrow afternoon. The Rider vs Maryland dual will start at 2 with a floating start time of 4 p.m. for Kent State's first dual on Saturday. Depending on the result, the Golden Flashes will either wrestle again at 6 p.m. in the fifth-place match or at 8:30 in the third-place match.

Links to follow along with live stats or watch via the Duals pay-per-view option are available on the wrestling schedule page.

UVA Kent St

125 Patrick McCormick (Virginia) over Tomas Gutierrez (Kent State) Dec 5-4 3.0 0

133 Tim Rooney (Kent State) over Louie Hayes (Virginia) Dec 3-1 0 3.0

141 Brian Courtney (Virginia) over Cory Simpson (Kent State) Dec 6-5 3.0 0

149 Kody Komara (Kent State) over Denton Spencer (Virginia) Dec 7-2 0 3.0

157 Justin McCoy (Virginia) over Brady Chrismas (Kent State) TF 20-5 5.0 0

165 Sam Martino (Virginia) over Kade Byland (Kent State) Dec 5-3 3.0 0

174 Andrew McNally (Kent State) over Victor Marcelli (Virginia) Dec 10-6 0 3.0

184 Lane Hinkle (Kent State) over Michael Battista (Virginia) Dec 4-0 0 3.0

197 Jay Aiello (Virginia) over Colin McCracken (Kent State) Dec 6-4 3.0 0

285 Quinn Miller (Virginia) over Spencer Berthold (Kent State) Fall 3:27 6.0 0