Blacksburg, Va. – The No. 8 Virginia Tech wrestling team takes the mat in Fitzgerald Arena against No. 18 Pitt on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra to begin ACC dual season competition.
The Hokies are back in action after forfeiting the would-be conference opener against #5 NC State due to Tech student-athlete unavailability on January 21. Originally scheduled for Friday January 28, both Tech and Pitt coaching staffs agreed it would be in the best interest to move the bout to Sunday, January 30. The Hokies face their sixth ranked team in No. 18 Pittsburgh.
No. 8 Virginia Tech vs No. 18 Pitt
Date: Sunday, Jan. 30
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Live Stream: ACC Network Extra
Live Updates: @HokiesWrestling (Twitter)
NO. 8 HOKIES VS NO. 18 PANTHERS
- Sunday afternoon marks the 19th meeting between the two programs on the mat. Pitt leads the series 12-6.
- The Hokies' last victory over the Panthers came in Blacksburg on February 12, 2021 in a 27-12 victory to claim Tech's eighth ACC Championship.
- The win over Pitt last season secured a perfect dual season record for Tech – the seventh and longest in program history.
- Head coach Tony Robie became the fourth coach in school history to secure an undefeated regular season.
KEY MATCHUPS
- The Hokies and Panthers combine for 15 ranked wrestlers, setting up for potentially five ranked matchups at 125, 133, 157, 184, and 197.
- 125 – #21 Sam Latona will meet #31 Gage Curry (11-6) for the first time in their careers.
- 133 – #5 Korbin Myers toes the line against #7 Micky Phillippi in a rematch of the 2021 ACC Championship finals. Myers claimed the title last year as well as holds a win from 2019 when the Panther was ranked No. 1 in the nation.
- 157 – #23 Connor Brady has been on fire this season – four ranked wins to his name while his two losses came at the hands of top-three opponents. He'll look to climb the rankings ladder again, this time against #21 Elijah Cleary (9-4).
- 184 – Returning All-American #12 Hunter Bolen returns to action after taking third at the 2022 Southern Scuffle. He faces familiar foe in #31 Gregg Harvey (6-4) – Bolen leads the series 2-0.
- 197 – In the final ranked bout of the afternoon, #33 Dakota Howard has a steep test on Sunday as he faces 2021 NCAA finalist, #8 Nino Bonaccorsi (9-2). Howard enters the contest with a 10-5 record with all his losses coming to ranked opponents.
HOKIES IN THE RANKINGS
- Tech enters the contest at No. 8 in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll Team Rankings.
- Nine Hokies are featured in at least one ranking poll – nine also ranked in the first Coaches' Rankings.
- Redshirt junior Mekhi Lewis (174, 13-0) rises to No. 3 in the latest rankings, the highest by a Hokie this season. Lewis is also ranked No. 13 in Flowrestling's pound-for-pound rankings.