Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 3 | January 2020

34 Inside Hokie Sports SPORTS UPDATES MEN’S SOCCER The Tech men’s soccer season unfortunately ended in the Sweet 16 at the hands of three-time national champion Stanford. However, the Hokies continue to establish a level of consistency of being one of the most competitive sides in the country. The Hokies’ senior class advanced to the NCAA Tournament all four years, making an Elite Eight appearance and two Sweet 16 appearances in that span. Alumni Weekend and Reunion —Head coach Mike Brizendine is inviting former players back to campus on April 17-18. More details will follow from the coaching staff, but it is shaping up to be a fantastic event, in addition to being the football program’s spring game weekend. The weekend program includes an evening social at Top of the Stairs on Friday, April 17. On Saturday, April 18, will be the 15th annual Virginia Tech World Cup and Tournament, with the Virginia Tech men’s soccer team and the Cranwell International Center serving as hosts. Alumni are encouraged to put together a team and play. If interested, please contact Coach Brizendine at mbriz@vt.edu . The tournament is seven a side and played on a half field with 25-minute games. Participation will include students, faculty, staff and alumni from Virginia Tech and neighboring universities. The event continues to function as part tournament and part mini-conference, examining cultural and historical formation of national and regional identities through public and civic engagement in the global sport of soccer. Virginia Tech Men’s Soccer Banquet —Join in celebrating the current Hokies’ team on their success during the 2019 season. Please RSVP by contacting Coach Brizendine at mbriz@vt.edu . To connect with your former soccer alumni, please look for us on Facebook, as we continue to grow our network and share past pictures and memories. Please search for “Virginia Tech Men’s Soccer Players, Alumni, and Friends of the Program.” Charlie Howe (Class of 2006) and Kevin Finn (’87) continue to spearhead an initiative to connect with everymen’s soccer captain in the program’s history. If you’ve heard from them to date, that’s fantastic, but please connect with Howe , who also serves as your Monogram Club men’s soccer representative and can be reached at charlieh.howe@gmail.com. MEN’S GOLF The 2019 Virginia Tech men’s golf team enjoyed some quality results throughout the fall season. Results from the five tournaments were modest, with the team working to improve for the spring season. Freshman Daniel Azallion made an immediate impact and, along with senior Mark Lawrence Jr. , set school records with nine-hole scores of 29 in competition. Five of the eight returning players ( Lawrence , Connor Burgess , Tom Crow , Bradley de Beer and Cameron Moore ) either tied or set their career low rounds. Hokies in the Pros — Drew Weaver , Johnson Wagner , J oey Lane and Trevor Cone all continued their strong play. Weaver finished 36th on the Korn Ferry Tour money list, with two top-10 finishes. He also was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame this past September, becoming the seventh men’s golf recipient of this prestigious honor. Wagner recently began another season on the PGA Tour. Lane and Cone each participated in the final stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School in December. Golf Team Reunion —During the weekend of Oct. 26-27, 49 former Virginia Tech golfers gathered for a biennial reunion in Blacksburg. Representatives from every decade dating to the 1960’s enjoyed camaraderie and golf. Former head golf coach Jay Hardwick served as the host for the event. Many stories were told, laughs shared, and even some competitive golf was included. Congratulations to Allen Barber and Barry McCarty for their victory in the Best Ball event. Contact Mike Ligon for more men’s golf information (ligonm01@ verizon.net ). WRESTLING The Tech wrestling team entered the 2019-20 season ranked No. 16 and opened with a convincing 29-10 victory over then-No. 9 Missouri. Mitch Moore capped the thrilling victory with a fall in 26 seconds that ended the match and gave Tech its first win ever over the Tigers. A day after pulling the upset of Missouri, Tech was back on the mat at the 2019 Southeast Open at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, with Sam Latona , Hunter Graf and Jake Hart each taking titles. The Hokies improved to 2-0 in duals after a 21-18 win over then-No. 21 Northwestern at the first ever “Mat on the Mound.” John Borst won by major decision to secure the win for the then-No. 11 Hokies at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park. The Hokies subsequently defeated then-No. 3 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. After Ohio State took a 4-3 lead, Tech’s Brent Moore came up with the big win of the match, pinning eighth-ranked Sammy Sasso in just 1:16 at 149 pounds. It was Moore’s fastest fall of his career and gave Tech a lead it would not relinquish. The Hokies also received victories from Collin Gerardi (133), B.C. LaPrade (157), Cody Hughes (174), Hunter Bolen (184), and Joey Prata (125), who defeated Malik Heinselman 5-2 to secure a six-point victory for the Hokies. The Hokies also sent 14 wrestlers to the 2019 Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open at NC State. Freshman Bryce Andonian was the only Hokie to reach the finals of his bracket. Andonian went 4-1, with amajor decision and two pins. Sam Latona finished third at 125 pounds after going 4-1, with two major decision victories and a tech fall. Tech wrestling secured its highest recruiting class ranking ever (No. 2) by signing six nationally ranked prospects in November. Tech is one of two schools with three signees in the top 30 on FloWrestling’s Class of 2019 Big Board. The Hokies signees were: No. 7 Hunter Catka , No. 23 Clayton Ulrey , No. 29 Sammy Hillegas , No. 47 Eddie Ventresca , No. 70 Sam Fisher and No. 116 Brandon Green . Catka, from Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, is the top-ranked wrestler in the heavyweight division, winning the 2018 state title in his weight class and finishing third at last year’s state tournament. Ulrey, from Grantville, Pennsylvania, is the fourth-ranked prospect in the 170-pound weight class. He has finished in the top five at the state tournament twice, including in second place in 2018. Hillegas, from Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, is the eighth-ranked wrestler in the 138-pound weight class, a two-time state champion, and is 119-2 in his high school career entering his senior year. Ventresca, from Landing, New Jersey, is the sixth-ranked prospect in the 126-pound weight class and won the 2019 state championship. Fisher, fromMarshall, Virginia, is the lone in-state recruit of the class and the sixth-ranked prospect in the 195-pound weight class. Green, from Paulsboro, New Jersey, is a state champion. The Tech team won the Navy Classic at the U.S. Naval Academy on Nov. 23. The Hokies finished with 116 points, nine points more than Campbell. David McFadden and Bolen took home titles for Tech at 165 and 184 pounds, respectively. On the international stage, Mekhi Lewis and Ty Walz both finish fourth at the 2019 Bill Farrell Memorial International Open held in New York City. The two Hokies still have two more opportunities to