COLLEGE WRESTLING
For the first time since 2017, No. 6 Virginia Tech gained outright possession of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title on Friday by defeating Duke 26-17 to finish an undefeated conference slate.
The Hokies won six of 10 matches on Senior Night in Cassell Coliseum to give coach Tony Robie and company their ninth conference title since he took the helm in Blacksburg.
Aaron Seidel (ranked seventh nationally at 133 pounds) won by forfeit, and teammates Tom Crook (22nd at 141), Ethen Miller (16th at 157), Mac Church (33rd at 165), Jaden Bullock (30th at 184) and Sonny Sasso (11th at 197) beat the Blue Devils.
The conference tournament is March 8 at Cassell Coliseum.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Hampton goes 1-1 on tourney’s first day
Hampton (3-4) split its first two games Friday in the Battle of the Bay tournament, which the Pirates are co-hosting with Norfolk State.
Hampton edged St. Francis of Loretto, Pennsylvania, 2-1 by scoring twice in the sixth inning.
Ava Lester pitched a six-hit complete seven-inning game for the victory, striking out six and walking none. She gave up a run in the first inning, but Hampton went ahead in the sixth off the Red Flash’s Ella Zoss, who also pitched a complete game.
Camryn Hamilton singled with one out, and pinch runner Priscilla Michel scored the tying run on Sydney Evans’ two-out triple to right-center. After a walk, Jayleen Reeves hit a bunt single to bring in the go-ahead run.
HU then fell 6-2 to Quinnipiac, which got a complete-game triumph from Shannon Kendall. The game was hitless and scoreless until the fifth, when the Bobcats (2-4) from Hamden, Connecticut, scored five times, all charged to HU starter Leah Maduro. Noelle Reid’s RBI single, errors and two run-scoring wild pitches contributed.
Down 6-0, the Pirates got RBI hits in the seventh from Evans and Amani Johnson.
Hampton is back in action at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Maine.
NSU falls twice despite Edmonds’ 3 runs
Norfolk State (3-3) lost both of its Friday games in the Battle of the Bay, 4-3 to Maine and 5-1 to Stony Brook, though Qween Edmonds scored three runs for the day.
The Black Bears trailed 3-0 against starter Maddy Morris (0-2) before scoring four runs in the seventh inning, their final at-bat.
NSU’s Bristyl Riddick had an RBI single and a home run after Morris’ RBI single in the first. Both of them had two of the Spartans’ 10 hits.
NSU’s only run against Stony Brook (1-11) came on Aniyah Michalak’s double in the sixth. Kailey Bryant pitched five innings but took the loss. Jayci Finch pitched a three-hitter for the victory.
No. 20 Hokies win twice as Western Branch alum has RBI hit
No. 20 Virginia Tech (9-2) won twice at the Georgia Classic in Athens, beating Seton Hall 7-2 and Utah State 10-3.
Zoe Yaeger’s two-run single in the fourth highlighted the victory over the Pirates. Against the Aggies, Tech erased a 2-0 run deficit. Yaeger hit a three-run double for a 6-2 lead in the third, and she finished that game with four RBIs.
Teammate Haley Luginbill, a Western Branch High graduate who transferred to Tech after two seasons with Maryland Baltimore County, had an RBI double.
No. 21 UVA’s coach gains 300th victory
No. 21 Virginia (10-1) won a pair of games Friday, beating Maryland 5-4 and then Ohio State 8-4 in the Mizuno Classic at Palmer Park. That gave Joanna Hardin her 300th career victory as a head coach; she came to UVA from McNeese State.
UVA overcame the Terrapins’ 4-1 lead with a four-run fourth, sandwiching RBI singles by Kassidy Hudson and Bella Cabral around Macee Eaton’s two-run single.
Against Ohio State, Alex Call gave UVA a 2-1 lead by swiping home on a double steal. In the fifth, RBI hits by Jade Hylton and Hudson preceded Eaton’s two-run homer.
COLLEGE SWIMMING AND DIVING
UVA women retain ACC lead
The Virginia women were first and the Cavaliers’ men were ninth after Thursday’s competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference championships in Atlanta.
UVA tallied six podium finishes Thursday. Sophomore Anna Moesch won the women’s 200 freestyle (1:39.72) as the Cavaliers’ women achieved podium finishes in all three events.
Freshman Thomas Heilman took silver in the men’s 100 butterfly, picking up his first ACC medal. His time of 44.16 set the UVA record in the event.
The Cavaliers’ women had four of the eight swimmers in two “A” finals on the night. In the 400 individual medley, the Cavaliers finished second through fifth, with sophomore Katie Grimes taking silver (3:59.80) and senior Aimee Canny bronze (4:02.35). In the 200 freestyle, freshman Madi Mintenko took silver (1:41.52) behind Moesch’s gold, with fellow Cavaliers placing fourth and sixth.
Junior Claire Curzan won silver in the 100 butterfly (48.47).
Two Cavaliers won”B” finals, with Carly Novelline taking the women’s 100 butterfly (51.16) and freshman Maximus Williamson the men’s 200 free (1:32.45).
The meet runs through Saturday.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S TENNIS
NSU gains notable victory at East Carolina
Norfolk State (2-1) registered one of its best victories in program history, winning 4-3 at East Carolina (1-1).
No. 1 Yuliya Yurkova, No. 4 Angelina Maniawska and No. 5 Sabina Iurea won in singles for the Spartans before Elena Martinez Prado registered a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 clincher at No. 3.