Pictured: Virginia Tech's Sam Latona (125) celebrates after defeating NC State's Jakob Camacho, 7-4, at the buzzer (2/5/2021). The win clinched the dual for the Hokies, 17-16, on criteria. Image courtesy of Virginia Tech Athletics.
The ACC was the talk of #WrestlingTwitter last week when one of its annual wrestling rivalry matchups was cancelled. No.8 Virginia Tech forfeited the match with No. 5 NC State, initially scheduled for Friday, January 21, in Raleigh.
However, a week later, it was announced that the match had been rescheduled for next month. The dual will still occur in Raleigh, but will be a "non-conference dual" on February 20 at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network.
Non-conference dual or not, it's great to have one of the best rivalries in ACC wrestling back on the calendar. At full strength, this match could feature as many as 14 wrestlers currently ranked in the latest TOM national rankings, plus a pair of stellar top-5 induvial matchups at 149 and 174.
Oh, and who could forget this beautiful moment, which went viral, when these ACC foes met back in 2021 with an ACC regular-season team title up for grabs.
https://twitter.com/accnetwork/status/1358916281387409417
Watch the full dual between then-No.3 NC State and then-No. 8 Virginia Tech (2/5/21) below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqsyEOI8NL0
Official release – courtesy of Virginia Tech Athletics.
Blacksburg, Va. – In a swing of events over the past week, the No. 8 ranked Virginia Tech wrestling team will travel to face No. 5 NC State in Raleigh, North Carolina for a non-conference dual on February 20 at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network.
https://twitter.com/HokiesWrestling/status/1487065843355865088
The highly anticipated bout was originally scheduled for the opening weekend of conference competition on Friday, January 21, but was ruled a forfeit against the Hokies as they we're unable to compete due to athlete unavailability.
Hear from head coach Tony Robie on Friday morning's Packer and Durham Show regarding the opportunity to rebook the rivalry against the Wolfpack.
https://twitter.com/HokiesWrestling/status/1487065843355865088
The added dual will take place in Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh during the last weekend of conference competition. While this is a battle of conference rivals, it will be organized as a non-conference competition with no conference implications at stake.
Up Next
The Hokies have business to attend this weekend in the meantime as they travel to the Steel City to take on the No. 18 Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday, January 30 on ACC Network Extra.
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