No. 6 Virginia Tech heads down tobacco road on Friday to battle No. 25 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The Hokies are currently in a three-way tie with the Tar Heels and No. 7 NC State for second place in the ACC, all owning 2-1 conference records. No. 16 Pitt, who upset VT in Blacksburg two weeks ago, leads the way at 3-0.
After beating NC State in the ACC opener, handling No. 21 Appalachian State a month ago and shutting out Duke last week, Tech can sweep the state of North Carolina with a win against UNC.
In order to stay in the chase for the ACC dual meet title, Virginia Tech needs a win against the Tar Heels.
Here are a couple of things to look out for during VT-UNC.
Winning borderline matches
There are a couple of toss-up bouts that Virginia Tech must win in order to beat North Carolina.
“Our goal going into UNC is to have 10 guys wrestling to the best of their ability and honestly if we do that, we’ll be fine,” Tech head coach Tony Robie said in an interview with Tech Sideline. “[In] this dual meet, there’s a lot of toss up matches. We’re definitely heavily favorites in some places. Where they’re favored, they’re slight favorites, but we’ve got to be able to win those borderline matches like we did not do against Pitt.
No. 11 Tom Crook will face No. 12 Lachlan McNeil at 141, No. 7 Hunter Bolen will scrap with No. 11 Gavin Kane at 184 and No. 5 Bryce Andonian will battle No. 3 Austin O’Conner at 157.
Those three matchups, which could go either way, will play a large role in deciding which team will come out on top on Friday.
Two Hokie wrestlers trying to notch first career wins over top-tier opponents
Bolen (0-2 against Kane) and Andonian (0-4 against O’Connor) both enter Friday night with winless records against their opponents.
Andonian has been outscored 42-23 in his four losses to O’Connor, most recently falling to the four-time All-American at the ACC tournament back in 2021.
“Those guys know where they stand,” Robie said of Bolen and Andonian. “They’re more than capable. The matches they’ve lost, those guys have all been really, really close. Bryce hasn’t wrestled him [O’Connor] in a couple years and I think Bryce is a different guy. That being said, Austin O’Connor’s really good and it’s a huge challenge.”
Bolen’s last loss to Kane came in Charlottesville at the ACC tournament in March. He’s seeking his first win against redshirt sophomore after falling in overtime in their first two meetings.
“Hunter Bolen needs to wrestle smart,” Robie said. “We need to make sure that we don’t make mistakes and we wrestle in positions we want to be in.
Both of Tech’s top grapplers have a chance to earn huge wins to improve their national rankings and help VT secure a win in Chapel Hill.
Finishing takedowns
The Hokies have been the victim of their own shots on several occasions over the last few weeks, allowing opponents to score when a Tech wrestler shoots.
There has been an emphasis on finishing attacks so that when VT shoots, it results in points for the Hokies — not their opponents.
“[We’ve] definitely spent a lot of time on finishing takedowns, for sure,” Robie said. “That’s been a point of emphasis for us, last week, and then again this week.
That aspect is critical as Virginia Tech looks to pick up its third ACC win of the year.
Prediction: No. 6 Virginia Tech 29, No. 25 North Carolina 3.
*All matchups are based on Wrestlestat’s projected matches*
All Virginia Tech starters were confirmed by head coach Tony Robie
125: No. 17 Jack Wagner (UNC) dec. Eddie Ventresca (VT)
133: No. 7 Sam Latona (VT) maj dec. Jace Palmer (UNC)
141: No. 11 Tom Crook (VT) dec. No. 12 Lachlan McNeil (UNC)
149: No. 8 Caleb Henson (VT) dec. No. 27 Zach Sherman (UNC)
157: No. 5 Bryce Andonian (VT) dec. No. 3 Austin O’Connor (UNC)
165: No. 27 Connor Brady (VT) dec. Joey Mazzara (UNC)
174: No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (VT) dec. No. 14 Clay Lautt (UNC)
184: No. 7 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. No. 11 Gavin Kane (UNC)
197: No. 22 Andy Smith (VT) dec. Max Shaw (UNC)
285: No. 20 Hunter Catka (VT) maj dec. Brandon Whitman (UNC)
Winning nine of the 10 matches against North Carolina may seem overly optimistic, but it’s more than possible for a team of Virginia Tech’s caliber. VT shut out No. 7 NC State in matches that didn’t go to overtime only three weeks ago. Based on records against common opponents in each match and results of previous head-to-head meetings, there’s reason to believe Tech could run away with the dual.
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ACCNX is televising this match at 7PM on ESPN
So why is ACCN showing Duke and UVA tomorrow night when this match is available?
Good question, but maybe they have to show each team a certain number of times (which could be once for wrestling)? I know VT had a match televised on ACCN not long ago.
I believe VT has had 2 of the 3 “Friday night duals” already so yeah, ACCN almost certainly wants other teams to get some airtime. NC State v Pitt is probably the dual that would make the most sense to air tonight though. Duke UVA is a matchup between 2 putrid teams.