DANVILLE, Va. — The Averett University men's wrestling team opened the second year of their program with a 37-18 victory over Southern Virginia University.
 
Averett got off to a 6-0 lead after the first bout at 125-pounds as freshman Joseph Jones won by forfeit. Sophomore Sam Braswell followed Jones, wrestling at 133-pounds against Aaron Freidhof of Southern Virginia. Braswell used two takedowns and a reversal to lead 6-4 after the first period. Two more takedowns in the second and one more in the third period paced the Daytona Beach, Florida, native to the 15-5 major decision victory.
 
At this point, Averett led 10-0 on the team score line. The Cougars would not slow down, though, as the navy and gold pinned their way through the next three bouts. Sophomores Brandon Woody and Josh Linkous pinned their opponents in the first period at 141-pounds and 149-pounds respectively. Freshman Mitchell Barney picked up his first win of the year by forfeit at 157-pounds before fellow freshman Jared Lough completed the first period pin trifecta at 165-pounds as he used a takedown and a near fall to help get Kyle York to his back. These victories pushed Averett's lead over Southern Virginia to 34-0.
 
In the remaining four bouts, Southern Virginia picked up wins by fall at 174, 197 and 285-pounds to reach 18 points on the scoreboard. Freshman Demontay Wimbush battled out a hard fought 3-1 decision victory at 184-pounds. Matthew Rohrdanz got out ahead in the first period with an escape, but Wimbush scored a takedown before the end of the opening period to take a 2-1 lead into the second. Neither wrestler would score in the second period as Wimbush took the one-point lead into the third. The Bassett, Virginia, native would hold off Rohrdanz in the finals seconds to win by decision, 3-1, as Wimbush earned the third point with the advantage in riding time.
 
With the win at 184 pounds, Averett went on to win the dual, 37-18.
 
Averett returns to the mat on Saturday, November 10, as the Cougars host the inaugural Averett University Cougar Open. The tournament is set to start at 9 a.m.
 
MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
#125 – Joseph Jones (AU) over Unknown (SVU) (Forfeit)
#133 – Sam Braswell (AU) over Aaron Freidhof (SVU) (MD 15-5)
#141 – Brandon Woody (AU) over David Hayes (SVU) (Fall 1:01)
#149 – Josh Linkous (AU) over Easton Whitaker (SVU) (Fall 1:43)
#157 – Mitchell Barney (AU) over Unknown (SVU) (Forfeit)
#165 – Jared Lough (AU) over Kyle York (SVU) (Fall 1:08)
#174 – Keaton Gomez (SVU) over Logan Howell (AU) (Fall 4:16)
#184 – Demontay Wimbush (AU) over Matthew Rohrdanz (SVU) (Dec 3-1)
#197 – Matt Speelman (SVU) over Chris Mohr (AU) (Fall 5:06)
#285 – Alex Brunner (SVU) over Hagan Smith (AU) (Fall 3:34)