ACC Dual Championship on the Line Friday Night

VIEW: NC State Match Notes
LISTEN: #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 42 – Va. Tech Preview

RALEIGH, N.C. – For the fourth straight season, the ACC Dual Championship will be decided when NC State and Virginia Tech face each other on the final weekend of the regular season.

The #10 Wolfpack and the #14 Hokies both sport identical 3-1 marks in ACC dual action heading into a 7 p.m. dual Friday night in Blacksburg. A Wolfpack win would push the Pack to the top of the ACC regular season standings.

	#10 NC State (15-3) at #14 Virginia Tech (9-4)
Date	Friday, Feb. 22
Time	7 p.m.
Location	Blacksburg, Va.
Arena	Cassell Coliseum
Tickets	Free
Streaming	ACC Network Extra
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Social Media	@PackWrestle

QUICK TAKEDOWNS
• NC State is attempting to win back-to-back ACC regular season tittles for the first time since 2001-02.
• NC State has won 8 of its last 9 ACC duals.
• NC State has also won 8 of its last 9 ACC road duals.
• NC State is 20-8 against ranked foes over the last four seasons, 10-5 in such duals outside of Raleigh.
• NC State is ranked #10 in this week's NWCA Coaches' Poll, the 56^th straight poll ranked in the top-10.
• Over the last four seasons, NC State's dual winning percentage of .891 (66-8) is the fifth-best mark in the nation, and the 66 team wins leads the nation.

PROBABLE LINEUPS
#10 NC State Wolfpack (15-3, 3-1 ACC)
125: #11 R-Sr. Sean Fausz (9-1)
133: #7 R-So. Tariq Wilson (12-2)
141: R-Sr. Jamel Morris (19-3)
149: #8 Gr. Justin Oliver (14-4)
157: #4 R-So. Hayden Hidlay (17-2)
165: R-So. Thomas Bullard (18-6)
174: R-So. Daniel Bullard (17-7)
184: #3 R-So. Nick Reenan (12-2)
197: R-Sr. Malik McDonald (15-8)
285: Fr. Colin Lawler (15-10) –OR- Fr. Deonte Wilson (15-9)

#14 Virginia Tech Hokies (9-4, 3-1 ACC)
125: R-So. Joey Prata (12-11)
133: #14 R-Jr. Korbin Myers (15-6)
141: Fr. Mitch Moore (16-5)
149: R-Sr. Ryan Blees (14-11)
157: R-So. B.C. LaPrade (14-7)
165: #8 R-Fr. Mekhi Lewis (20-2)
174: #7 R-Jr. David McFadden (15-2)
184: #5 R-Sr. Zack Zavatsky (21-3)
197: #9 R-Sr. Tom Sleigh (18-5) –OR- R-Jr. Brooks Wilding (0-2)
285: #20 R-Sr. Billy Miller (12-6) –OR- R-Fr. John Borst (13-9)

* - Team Ranking according to NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll
* - Individual Rankings according to InterMat

FEATURED MATCHUPS
141: Jamel Morris vs. Mitch Moore
A redshirt-senior vs. a true freshman is one of the 'swing' matches in this ACC dual, as both come in unranked, but the two are arguable the top two wrestlers in this weight in the ACC. This will be the first meeting for the two.

184: #3 Nick Reenan vs. #5 Zack Zavatsky
A top-5 battle at 184 pounds, with #3 Reenan vs. #5 Zavatsky. This will be the second career matchup between the pair, last year as a redshirt, Reenan won in the season-opening Hokie Open, 8-6.

VYING FOR BACK-TO-BACK
Despite an 18-16 home loss to Pitt on Feb. 10, NC State still controls its own destiny when it comes to winning a second straight ACC Dual Championship. If the Wolfpack wins at Virginia Tech this weekend, NC State repeats as regular season champions.

There is currently a three-way tie atop the ACC standings, with NC State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina all at 3-1. A Wolfpack win will clinch a share of the dual title.

NC State is attempting to win back-to-back ACC regular season titles for the first time since 2001-02.

CLOSE TO FULL SQUAD
NC State fans have not seen a trio of top-12 starters all compete in the same dual since Jan. 6 at Ohio State - the last seven duals. All three are listed in the probable lineup for Virginia Tech: #11 Sean Fausz (125), #7 Tariq Wilson (133), and #3 Nick Reenan (184).

Fasuz has been selective on his weigh-ins the last two years. He saw his first dual at 125 pounds since Jan. 6 last weekend. Wilson had to injury default in his match at Ohio State, and has not wrestled since - he did receive a forfeit win vs. Duke. Reenan missed a month of action after that Ohio State dual, but has been in action in the last three duals.

SERIES VS. VIRGINIA TECH
Since Virginia Tech joined the ACC for wrestling for the 2004 season, the Pack has posted a 5-10 record against the Hokies. Virginia Tech had won nine straight in the series before the Pack's win last year in Reynolds. NC State's last win in Blacksburg came in 2006 (25-21).

LAST YEAR VS. VIRGINIA TECH
On NC State's Senior Night, the 2018 ACC Dual Championship came down a battle of ranked heavyweights. NC State's Michael Boykin scored the bout's lone takedown 20 seconds into OT and propelled the #6 Wolfpack to a 19-15 win over #8 Virginia Tech as the Pack claimed the 2018 ACC regular season title. The two teams split the 10 matches, but a pair of 15-0 NC State tech falls at both 125 and 141 pounds proved to be the difference.

How This Year's Probables Fared:
125: #5 Sean Fausz (NCSU) tech fall Kyle Norstrem; 15-0
133: #18 Dennis Gustafson (VT) dec. #13 Tariq Wilson; 9-7
157: #3 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. Solomon Chishko; 8-4
174: #15 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. Daniel Bullard; 5-3

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Michael Boykin

Daniel Bullard

Thomas Bullard

Sean Fausz

Hayden Hidlay

Colin Lawler

Malik McDonald

Jamel Morris

Justin Oliver

Nick Reenan

Deonte Wilson

Tariq Wilson