CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – A challenging week lies ahead for several Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling programs, as six of the nine dual matches will be against top-25 competition, headlined by No. 7 Virginia Tech taking on No. 3 Oklahoma State on Thursday, December 19, at 8 p.m. ET in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on ESPN+.
The top-25 action continues on Friday, December 20, when No. 18 Pitt will compete at the Rider Quad Meet, taking on No. 24 Maryland (10 a.m. ET), No. 14 South Dakota State (noon ET) and host Rider (2 p.m. ET). On Saturday, December 21, No. 25 North Carolina will take on No. 5 Ohio State (3 p.m. ET), No. 13 Iowa State (5 p.m. ET) and Lock Haven at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Nashville, Tennessee.
On Sunday, December 22, Duke will host VMI at 1 p.m. ET on ACCNX, while No. 6 NC State will hit the road to face off with No. 12 Cornell at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
In addition to the duals, Virginia will compete at the highly touted Sheridan Tournament hosted by Lehigh on Saturday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
ESPN and the ACC announced that
ACC Friday Night Duals will return this season to ACC Network with five straight weeks of conference matchups, beginning on January 24, when No. 7 Virginia Tech travels to Durham, North Carolina, to take on Duke. Veteran play-by-play announcer Shawn Kenney and analyst Rock Harrison will be on the call for the sixth straight year.
Recent Results (Duals)
Friday, December 13
#5 Ohio State 20, #19 Pitt 17
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday, December 19
#7 Virginia Tech at #3 Oklahoma State | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Friday, December 20
#24 Maryland vs. #18 Pitt | 10 a.m. ET | BroncoVision
#14 South Dakota State vs. #18 Pitt | noon ET | BroncoVision
#18 Pitt at Rider | 2 p.m. ET | BroncoVision
Virginia at Sheridan Tournament | All Day | FloWrestling
Saturday, December 21
#25 North Carolina vs. #5 Ohio State | 3 p.m. ET | Rokfin
#25 North Carolina vs. #13 Iowa State | 5 p.m. ET | Rokfin
#25 North Carolina vs. Lock Haven | 7 p.m. ET | Rokfin
Sunday, December 22
VMI at Duke | 1 p.m. ET | ACCNX
#6 NC State at #12 Cornell | 4 p.m. ET | ESPN+
All times listed as Eastern Time.
Noting ACC Wrestling
- For the eighth straight week, and all season long, the ACC had five teams ranked in the most recent top 25 of the NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll (December 17). NC State remained at No. 6 and was joined in the top 10 once again by Virginia Tech at No. 7. Stanford stayed at No. 15, while Pitt moved up one spot to No. 18. North Carolina rounded out the ACC contingency in the top 25 at No. 25.
- For the second consecutive week, the ACC had 45 wrestlers ranked in the top 33 of their respective weight classes in the InterMat Individual rankings, including five wrestlers in six different weight classes - 125, 133, 149, 157, 174 and 184. The ACC has at least one grappler in the top 10 in eight of the 10 weight classes and a total of 12 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes.
- Overall, the seven ACC wrestling teams are a combined 24-11 in dual matches over the first seven weeks of the season, with two teams still undefeated in dual-match competition in NC State (5-0) and Virginia Tech (3-0).
- Pitt’s Jared Keslar (165 pounds) was named the ACC Wrestler of the Week for Week 7, including matches from December 12-15.
- With the addition of Stanford, the ACC now has seven programs that sponsor wrestling – Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia and Virginia Tech.