Our first of three home duals to close out the season, this is definitely the best one we have left. VT is undefeated in the ACC and looks set for a clash with NC State to close out the season with the dual title on the line. This is a dual that should have some very good matchups and we shocked them at VT last year so they will be hyped up and looking for revenge. However, I feel as if we would be remiss to expect that again as we picked up two surprise falls in that dual which I doubt we can anticipate happening again.
125:
NR Camacho vs #4 Cooper Flynn
Camacho decked Flynn in 44 seconds last season with a mixer. Flynn was the backup to AA Eddie Ventresca last season and started this year in an Olympic Redshirt. When Ventresca struggled immensely due to injury issues, Flynn had his shirt pulled and became the starter. On a side note apparently Eddie is strongly considering the portal, which if that is true is someone we should be all over if he makes a recovery. But Flynn has been great so far this season beating Nico Provo, Noah Surtin and Brett Ungar. His only two losses both came at the midlands where he lost to Luke Stanich who is a true freshman ranked 2nd (that Camacho almost beat) and past AA Eric Barnett who is ranked 3rd. Because of all this I have Flynn as the definite favorite and someone I expect to come out with a vengeance and prove that him getting stuck last year was just a fluke. VT FAVORED
133:
#23 Vince vs #13 Latona
Latona is a 2x All American who has a career with great wins and questionable losses. His best career win was beating Vito in last years dual meet. He split matches with Mickey last year, but one the big one in the NCAA Blood Round. He is 15-5 on the year with his "worse" loss coming by major to UVA's Yarbrough, but of his losses not a single one has been to a past All American. So he is definitely someone that is a vulnerable opponent. I think the AA's veteran experience is going to lead to him pulling it off, but this is not a match that Vinny should be entirely written off in. VT FAVORED
141:
#15 Matthews vs #13 Crook
Cole is off to an amazing start to ACC competition and this match will be his last big test before the postseason begins. If he pulls this off he all but guarantees himself the 1 seed a few weeks from now. Matthews beat Crook 2x last season, both in close matches. Crook qualified for NCAA's as a true frosh but went 1-2. He started this year in redshirt at 149, but descended down to 141 in December and has been successful so far in his return to the weight. His only losses are two WVU's Titus and Cornell's Cornella, both wrestlers that Matthews has lost to, who are nationally ranked guys. His best win is over UNC's McNeil and he is the only other current undefeated 141 in the ACC. If Crook beats Cole, and then Jack beats Crook it would be a three way tie for the 1 seed in the ACC. But if Cole wins here he can put himself in a great spot as the 1 seed. But this one is too close to call and I hope the home crowd can give Cole the same boost it gave him against Jack. TOSS UP
149:
#29 Solomon vs #2 Henson
Henson took 5th in the country as a true freshman and is 22-1 this year with a win over ASU's Parco and WVU's Watters. His only loss is to #1 Lovett. Solomon will have to defend incredibly well to pull this one off, as Henson gets after it and puts up points, while also being incredibly stingy in giving them up. Finn has not shown anything in recent weeks to give me much hope in this matchup. Keeping it close will be important. VT FAVORED
157: NR Keslar vs NR Ulrey
Ulrey is a backup for VT who has split time between 157 and 165 this season. He went 2-2 at ACC's in his 1 year as the starter for VT. This year he has put up good results in his time as a spot starter due to BA's injury troubles. He recently faced off against UNC's Sonny Santiago and came out victorious. Keslar is coming fresh off a MD loss to Santiago. Because of this I am leaning towards Ulrey getting the win, all of his losses at 157 have come to nationally ranked guys and he has seemed to do a very solid job of beating the guys VT needs him to beat in duals. VT FAVORED
1st half:
0 Pitt favored, 1 Toss Up, 4 VT Favored
The numbers game is not looking good off the rip for our boys. Some magic will need to occur in order for me to be optimistic about the second half (where we do match up much closer). Upsets appear possible to me at all weights but 149, however I would be more surprised to see us winning at halftime then I would be to see us being shut out.
165: #13 Heller vs #21 Brady
These two split matches last season, Heller winning in the dual and Brady at ACC's. Brady is 11-6 on the year with 4 of his losses coming to guys ranked outside of the top 10. He has done a good job of winning matches vs unranked guys, but many of them have been closer. Heller had lost 5 straight going into Duke, so hopefully he can win here for 3 wins in a row and build that streak going into the postseason. There is nothing that can make me lean to either side here, TOSS UP.
174: #18 Augustine vs #2 Mekhi
Mekhi won 14-4 when these two matched up last season. Lewis is a former NCAA champion in his 7th year at VT. He has placed top 4 in all 3 NCAA tournaments he was able to complete. He has only had 2 matches this season end within a takedowns reach. Luca is very very good and I believe will be able to keep it closer then he did in the past. However, Lewis is the favorite to be the 2 seed at NCAA's and make the finals opposite Starocci. VT Favored.
184: #9 Heller vs NR Stewart
Stewart is not the ranked VT wrestler at 184, Dakota Howard is ranked 21st. But Stewart has wrestled 3 times in the past month while Howard only has 1 time. Due to that I expect to see Stewart, a former top recruit for VT, at 184 for the Hokies. Stewart only has 4 career matches at 184, the rest came up at 197. Stewart actually wrestled 215 in HS his senior year and had a great matchup against Pitzer in the 2021 Powerade Finals and again at the 2022 PWC. Pitzer won the first and Stewart won the rematch. So this is obviously a very talented wrestler to not take lightly. Stewart's only "big" match at 184 was against Gavin Kane, who he lost to in SV. Due to the lack of matches at the weight and Heller's recent ability to keep matches in his control I am leaning for him to win. If Howard goes, he is a 6th year who has competed mainly at 197 in his career. He is 7-3 on the year with his best win over Princeton's Dugan. Either way, I am honestly a big believer in Reece and think he continues this very good run he is on. PITT FAVORED.
197: #16 Stout vs #26 Smith
Smith is 14-6 on the year. He lost to Nino 3-1 in last years dual. He is 14-6 on the year with no real bad losses and no real great wins. His lost to Geog who Stout beat and beat Shaw who Stout just lost too. So it is hard to make a pick going into this one. Hopefully Stout is still on the attack, and the fact that he got countered by Shaw doesn't dissuade him from being an aggressor. Stout losing this one would all but lock him in as the th seed at ACCs. Which would give him Hoagie in the semis. Winning makes any spot between 2nd-4th attainable and the possibility of not hitting Hidlay until the finals is pretty big for NCAA implications. TOSS UP
HWT: NR Magin vs #20 Catka
Catka is really good and is bigger than Magin. Would require Magin to utilize on of those upper body moves he hit against UNC to pull this off. Do not anticipate Magin being able to keep this low scoring. VT FAVORED
2nd Half: 1 Pitt Favored, 2 Toss Up, 2 VT FAVORED
If we have Dayton the 2nd half is much more likely to go our way, However I can realistically see us winning the 2nd half of this dual, but I am unsure how much ground we will have to make up.
Overall: 1 Pitt Favored, 3 Toss Up, 6 VT FAVORED
An upset is all but necessary for us to win this dual. I am not going into this dual optimistic for a victory in the dual, but rather for our guys to have some good matches and make important strides before ACC's. If everything goes our way like tOSU it is possible but we would need to completely reverse the way we performed against UNC for that to be the case.
125:
NR Camacho vs #4 Cooper Flynn
Camacho decked Flynn in 44 seconds last season with a mixer. Flynn was the backup to AA Eddie Ventresca last season and started this year in an Olympic Redshirt. When Ventresca struggled immensely due to injury issues, Flynn had his shirt pulled and became the starter. On a side note apparently Eddie is strongly considering the portal, which if that is true is someone we should be all over if he makes a recovery. But Flynn has been great so far this season beating Nico Provo, Noah Surtin and Brett Ungar. His only two losses both came at the midlands where he lost to Luke Stanich who is a true freshman ranked 2nd (that Camacho almost beat) and past AA Eric Barnett who is ranked 3rd. Because of all this I have Flynn as the definite favorite and someone I expect to come out with a vengeance and prove that him getting stuck last year was just a fluke. VT FAVORED
133:
#23 Vince vs #13 Latona
Latona is a 2x All American who has a career with great wins and questionable losses. His best career win was beating Vito in last years dual meet. He split matches with Mickey last year, but one the big one in the NCAA Blood Round. He is 15-5 on the year with his "worse" loss coming by major to UVA's Yarbrough, but of his losses not a single one has been to a past All American. So he is definitely someone that is a vulnerable opponent. I think the AA's veteran experience is going to lead to him pulling it off, but this is not a match that Vinny should be entirely written off in. VT FAVORED
141:
#15 Matthews vs #13 Crook
Cole is off to an amazing start to ACC competition and this match will be his last big test before the postseason begins. If he pulls this off he all but guarantees himself the 1 seed a few weeks from now. Matthews beat Crook 2x last season, both in close matches. Crook qualified for NCAA's as a true frosh but went 1-2. He started this year in redshirt at 149, but descended down to 141 in December and has been successful so far in his return to the weight. His only losses are two WVU's Titus and Cornell's Cornella, both wrestlers that Matthews has lost to, who are nationally ranked guys. His best win is over UNC's McNeil and he is the only other current undefeated 141 in the ACC. If Crook beats Cole, and then Jack beats Crook it would be a three way tie for the 1 seed in the ACC. But if Cole wins here he can put himself in a great spot as the 1 seed. But this one is too close to call and I hope the home crowd can give Cole the same boost it gave him against Jack. TOSS UP
149:
#29 Solomon vs #2 Henson
Henson took 5th in the country as a true freshman and is 22-1 this year with a win over ASU's Parco and WVU's Watters. His only loss is to #1 Lovett. Solomon will have to defend incredibly well to pull this one off, as Henson gets after it and puts up points, while also being incredibly stingy in giving them up. Finn has not shown anything in recent weeks to give me much hope in this matchup. Keeping it close will be important. VT FAVORED
157: NR Keslar vs NR Ulrey
Ulrey is a backup for VT who has split time between 157 and 165 this season. He went 2-2 at ACC's in his 1 year as the starter for VT. This year he has put up good results in his time as a spot starter due to BA's injury troubles. He recently faced off against UNC's Sonny Santiago and came out victorious. Keslar is coming fresh off a MD loss to Santiago. Because of this I am leaning towards Ulrey getting the win, all of his losses at 157 have come to nationally ranked guys and he has seemed to do a very solid job of beating the guys VT needs him to beat in duals. VT FAVORED
1st half:
0 Pitt favored, 1 Toss Up, 4 VT Favored
The numbers game is not looking good off the rip for our boys. Some magic will need to occur in order for me to be optimistic about the second half (where we do match up much closer). Upsets appear possible to me at all weights but 149, however I would be more surprised to see us winning at halftime then I would be to see us being shut out.
165: #13 Heller vs #21 Brady
These two split matches last season, Heller winning in the dual and Brady at ACC's. Brady is 11-6 on the year with 4 of his losses coming to guys ranked outside of the top 10. He has done a good job of winning matches vs unranked guys, but many of them have been closer. Heller had lost 5 straight going into Duke, so hopefully he can win here for 3 wins in a row and build that streak going into the postseason. There is nothing that can make me lean to either side here, TOSS UP.
174: #18 Augustine vs #2 Mekhi
Mekhi won 14-4 when these two matched up last season. Lewis is a former NCAA champion in his 7th year at VT. He has placed top 4 in all 3 NCAA tournaments he was able to complete. He has only had 2 matches this season end within a takedowns reach. Luca is very very good and I believe will be able to keep it closer then he did in the past. However, Lewis is the favorite to be the 2 seed at NCAA's and make the finals opposite Starocci. VT Favored.
184: #9 Heller vs NR Stewart
Stewart is not the ranked VT wrestler at 184, Dakota Howard is ranked 21st. But Stewart has wrestled 3 times in the past month while Howard only has 1 time. Due to that I expect to see Stewart, a former top recruit for VT, at 184 for the Hokies. Stewart only has 4 career matches at 184, the rest came up at 197. Stewart actually wrestled 215 in HS his senior year and had a great matchup against Pitzer in the 2021 Powerade Finals and again at the 2022 PWC. Pitzer won the first and Stewart won the rematch. So this is obviously a very talented wrestler to not take lightly. Stewart's only "big" match at 184 was against Gavin Kane, who he lost to in SV. Due to the lack of matches at the weight and Heller's recent ability to keep matches in his control I am leaning for him to win. If Howard goes, he is a 6th year who has competed mainly at 197 in his career. He is 7-3 on the year with his best win over Princeton's Dugan. Either way, I am honestly a big believer in Reece and think he continues this very good run he is on. PITT FAVORED.
197: #16 Stout vs #26 Smith
Smith is 14-6 on the year. He lost to Nino 3-1 in last years dual. He is 14-6 on the year with no real bad losses and no real great wins. His lost to Geog who Stout beat and beat Shaw who Stout just lost too. So it is hard to make a pick going into this one. Hopefully Stout is still on the attack, and the fact that he got countered by Shaw doesn't dissuade him from being an aggressor. Stout losing this one would all but lock him in as the th seed at ACCs. Which would give him Hoagie in the semis. Winning makes any spot between 2nd-4th attainable and the possibility of not hitting Hidlay until the finals is pretty big for NCAA implications. TOSS UP
HWT: NR Magin vs #20 Catka
Catka is really good and is bigger than Magin. Would require Magin to utilize on of those upper body moves he hit against UNC to pull this off. Do not anticipate Magin being able to keep this low scoring. VT FAVORED
2nd Half: 1 Pitt Favored, 2 Toss Up, 2 VT FAVORED
If we have Dayton the 2nd half is much more likely to go our way, However I can realistically see us winning the 2nd half of this dual, but I am unsure how much ground we will have to make up.
Overall: 1 Pitt Favored, 3 Toss Up, 6 VT FAVORED
An upset is all but necessary for us to win this dual. I am not going into this dual optimistic for a victory in the dual, but rather for our guys to have some good matches and make important strides before ACC's. If everything goes our way like tOSU it is possible but we would need to completely reverse the way we performed against UNC for that to be the case.
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