Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/492037
It hadn't been a very good year if you just look at records. The Cavaliers entered the ACC Wrestling Cham- pionships with a record of 10-7, including 2-3 in the ACC, after suffering setbacks in four con- secutive matches and going 2-5 in their final seven events. No one was picking UVa as the tournament favorite. Head coach Steve Garland wasn't making any bold predictions, but said the team had a lot of peace going into the tournament. "I never crunch numbers before a tournament," Garland said when he met with the media following the team's return to Charlottesville. "I'm trying to be faithful to [the wrestlers] and make sure each kid is as ready as he can be for the tournament." With a veteran crew and team that had been chal- lenged by a brutal schedule, Garland and his staff saw several opportunities for wins and points. "When we were talking about the tournament a couple days out, assistant coach Keith Gavin and I were talking about what we thought we could do," Garland said. "We thought we could come out of there with four champs and thought maybe that could put us in a spot where we could win it. We thought we had that much firepower going in, regardless of how the season went." Garland and Gavin were right. Virginia captured two weight class titles and finished with 85.5 points. The Hoos managed to BEHIND THE SCENES WRESTLING CAPTURES ACC TITLE The Cavaliers notched the fifth ACC championship in program history and the second in head coach Steve Garland's nine seasons at the helm. PHOTO COURTESY UVA