No. 7 Virginia Tech Wrestling Closes Out Regular Season Against Virginia

No. 7 Virginia Tech hosts Virginia on Friday night in the team’s final dual of regular season. The Hokies are tied for first place in ACC with No. 8 NC State and No. 16 Pitt with a 3-1 conference record. A win against the Cavaliers would secure at least a portion of the ACC dual meet title.

Virginia sits in fifth place in the ACC after notching its first conference win against Duke last week.

The Hokies enter the regular season finale as heavy favorites against the Cavaliers, but there are a few things that head coach Tony Robie wants to see from his team in its regular season finale.

Here are things to watch for during the Commonwealth Clash:

Continuing positive momentum from wins over Duke and No. 27 North Carolina

Since losing to Pitt three weeks ago, Virginia Tech recorded back-to-back blowout victories over Duke and UNC, outscoring the Blue Devils and Tar Heels by a combined score of 73-8.

In those two matches the Hokies recorded ten bonus-point wins, including a pair of pins. 

“I thought in most places we went out and we were aggressive and we were offensive,” Robie said about VT’s performance against North Carolina. “We scored multiple takedowns at 125, 133, 174, 184, 197 and heavyweight, so [we] felt good about that. We felt like guys kept their foot on the gas and kept trying to build their leads and wrestled real solid for the most part.”

Virginia won’t pose as many challenges as North Carolina, but VT will need a solid performance against the Cavaliers to take home the Commonwealth Clash victory.

Bounce back performances from two Hokies

No. 5 Bryce Andonian (157) and No. 12 Tom Crook (141) were the only two Hokie wrestlers to suffer losses against North Carolina, each falling by major decision.

Andonian’s bonus-point defeat was his first since 2019 and only the third of his collegiate career. Crook’s bonus-point loss was his first in his collegiate career.

“I just think you have to identify what went wrong and why it went wrong,” Robie said about the talented pair’s losses. “You have to make corrections, but you can’t let it derail you. It’s a hiccup. It’s a long season. A lot of guys have hiccups along the way. We’ve got to redeem ourselves and get back to who we really are and the way we’re capable of wrestling. 

“Credit to their opponents, but at the same time, they’re capable of more and I think we’ll get more out of them in the future.”

Look for Andonian to bounce back in a big way against Virginia’s Jake Keating to finish off the regular season. Crook may not get the start at 141 on Friday night as the team could opt to start redshirt senior Collin Gerardi for senior night. If the true freshman does start against UVa, expect him to get back on track against an unranked opponent.

Setting the tone early and often

The Hokies want to be the aggressors in every bout they wrestle. That mentality has helped Tech jump out to early leads and have leverage in the later stages of matches.

VT wants to continue that approach against Virginia as the team continues to prepare for the postseason.

“We’ve got to set the tone early,” Robie said. “Whoever steps out on the mat first has got to go out and get after them. Leave no doubt. Give them no hope and dominate from start to finish where we can, and there’s some places that we feel like we can do that. 

“Obviously, there are going to be some close matchups and some challenging matches for us, but I think if we wrestle up to our capability, you can see a lot of Hokies winning and hopefully getting some bonus points.”

Prediction: No. 7 Virginia Tech 30, Virginia 6.

All matchups are based on Wrestlestat’s projected matches

125: No. 23 Eddie Ventresca (VT) dec. Patrick McCormick (UVA)

133: No. 7 Sam Latona (VT) maj dec. Marlon Yarbrough (UVA)

141: Brian Courtney (UVA) dec. *Collin Gerardi (VT)*

149: No. 8 Caleb Henson (VT) dec. No. 27 Jarod Verkleeren (UVA)

157: No. 5 Bryce Andonian (VT) tech fall Jake Keating (UVA)

165: No. 16 Justin McCoy (UVA) dec. No. 27 Connor Brady (VT)

174: No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (VT) tech fall Victor Marcelli (UVA)

184: No. 7 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. No. 16 Neil Antrassian (VT)

197: No. 22 Andy Smith (VT) dec. No. 25 Michael Battista (UVA)

285: No. 19 Hunter Catka (VT) maj dec. Ethan Weatherspoon (UVA)

*Robie said Gerardi might get the start at 141 for senior night. He said it was up in the air, but I would assume he starts on Friday night.*

Despite having a couple of ranked wrestlers, Virginia shouldn’t present a huge challenge for Tech. The Hokies enter Friday night as heavy favorites and should beat the Cavaliers handily, clinching at least co-ACC dual meet champion honors.