No. 6 Virginia Tech looks to stay undefeated in the ACC against No. 23 Pitt on Friday night in Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies host the Panthers at 7 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.
Coming off a huge win over No. 9 NC State, VT can further distance itself in the race for the ACC dual meet title with a win over Pitt.
The Hokies’ 16-14 win over the Wolfpack last Friday was decided by a handful of close matches. While Tech is favored more heavily against the Panthers, there are a few bouts that could dictate the direction of the dual.
Here are some of the biggest matches to watch against Pitt:
*All matchups are based on Wrestlestat’s projected matches*
133 pounds: No. 5 Sam Latona vs No. 7 Micky Phillippi
Latona enters Friday night riding an eight-match winning streak, most recently taking down NC State’s No. 25 Kai Orine, 3-1.
Two weeks ago, the Alabama native upset Cornell’s then-No. 3 Vito Arujau, 3-2. He’ll have a shot at another top-ten win this week against No. 7 Phillippi.
Latona and Phillippi will meet for the first time on Friday night, but Latona owns the slight advantage against common opponents with a 5-3 career record. Philippi is 4-3 against that group.
The only projected top-ten bout of the night should be one of the most thrilling matches in the dual and could be another impressive win for Latona this season.
141 pounds: No. 12 Tom Crook vs No. 3 Cole Matthews
Matthews owns an impressive 14-1 record on the year. His lone loss came against West Virginia’s Jordan Titus, who is currently unranked on Intermat.com. Crook should have a good chance of pulling off the upset.
At 13-5, the true freshman had a hot start to his collegiate career but has yet to record a signature win. A big victory over Matthews could be an early sign of a very successful career for Crook.
197 pounds: No. 22 Andy Smith vs No. 2 Nino Bonaccorsi
Smith earned the biggest win of his career against NC State, taking down No. 9 Isaac Trumble, 3-2. His victory iced the dual for the Hokies.
He’ll have another chance to beat a top-ranked guy this week against Bonaccorsi. The former All-American owns the lone win in his only meeting with Smith and currently sits at 9-0 this season.
A second-straight top-seven victory for Smith could help the Hokies cruise past a talented Pitt squad. Don’t count him out, either — the underdog role suited him well against the Wolfpack.
Prediction: No. 6 Virginia Tech over No. 23 Pitt, 23-9
VT is the favorite in this match and should handedly take down Pitt if the favored wrestlers do their jobs.
Here’s how I predict the dual will unfold:
125: Cooper Flynn (VT) dec. Colton Camacho (PITT)
133: No. 5 Sam Latona (VT) dec. No. 7 Micky Phillippi (PITT)
141: No. 3 Cole Matthews (PITT) dec. No. 12 Tom Crook (VT)
149: No. 9 Caleb Henson (VT) maj dec. No. 29 Tyler Badgett (PITT)
157: No. 5 Bryce Andonian (VT) maj dec. No. 33 Dazjon Castro (PITT)
165: No. 25 Connor Brady (VT) dec. No. 23 Holden Heller (PITT)
174: No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (VT) dec. Luca Augustine (PITT)
184: No. 7 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. No. 19 Reece Heller (PITT)
197: No. 2 Nino Bonaccorsi (PITT) dec. No. 22 Andy Smith (VT)
285: No. 5 Dayton Pitzer (PITT) dec. No. 23 Hunter Catka (VT)
I think Flynn gets the nod at 125 since Ventresca has struggled recently, and he has the ability to snag a win against Camacho.
Brady has a decent shot to earn a bounce-back victory over a ranked opponent against Heller. Even if he can’t pull off the upset, the Hokies should still have a decent cushion against the Panthers.
As long as things go as expected for Virginia Tech, the Hokies should face little adversity against Pitt and move to 2-0 in the ACC, one inch closer to earning the dual meet title.
Looking forward to tonight’s match tech looked very good last week 4 of 5 losses last week in ot, need to do better in ot , but overall very happy with effort.
Great preview, Jack. Thanks.