ACC Weekend Preview (1/31/2025)

We are nearing the midway point of ACC dual competition and we have Rivalry Week coming in strong. Virginia will travel to Virginia Tech and North Carolina State will cross town to face North Carolina in what could be a very scrappy dual. The conference dual title continues to be very much up for grabs with NC State and North Carolina both undefeated with Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and Stanford all fighting to stay in contention with one loss each. 

There will be some fun matchups tonight with Virginia and Virginia Tech getting the Rock and Shawn treatment on ACC Network while the Tar Heels host the Pack and Stanford travels to Oregon State with streaming options on ESPN+ and ACCNx. 

Virginia at #9 Virginia Tech

125: #26 Keyveon Roller v #5 Eddie Ventresca

133: #26 Gable Porter OR Kyle Montaperto v #19 Connor McGonagle

141: #17 Dylan Cedeno v #10 Sam Latona

149: #30 Jack Gioffre v #1 Caleb Henson

157: Nick Sanko v #10 Rafael Hipolito OR Matt Henrich

165: #22 Nick Hamilton v #29 Mac Church

174: Michael Murphy v #24 Lennox Wolak

184: Griffin Gammell OR Hadyn Danals v #24 TJ Stewart

197: Stephen Burrell OR Ethan Weatherspoon v #8 Andy Smith

285: Gabe Christensen v #14 Jimmy Mullen

The battle for Virginia supremacy will be the Friday Night Dual on the ACC Network this week. The Hokies have owned the Commonwealth Clash over the better part of the past decade and will be in the driver's seat to continue that run on Friday in Blacksburg. 

Both teams rested several starters last week with illness and/or injuries; it sounds like the Hokies should be back to nearly full strength while the Hoos continue to deal with illness throughout the lineup. Even with a few starters out, there will be some big matches to keep your eye on in Cassell Coliseum. I have been very impressed with Keyveon Roller since he moved down to 125; he is returning from an injury and will have a big test in former All-American Eddie Ventresca. 133 could be one of the sneaky good matches in this one with either Porter or Montaperto for the Hoos and Connor McGonagle looking to continue some positive momentum for the Hokies. Dylan Cedeno is undefeated at 141 since his second-semester start and will face one of the toughest opponents of the year in two-time All-American Sam Latona. Nick Hamilton is coming off a one-takedown loss to All-American Hunter Garvin against Stanford and will look to get back in the thick of the 165 battle against Mac Church who is coming off a close loss to Aidan Wallace. The biggest story of the dual may be the return of two key Hokies; National Champion Caleb Henson and bloodround finisher Andy Smith are both back for the first time in 2025. 

#8 North Carolina State at #18 North Carolina

125: #3 Vince Robinson or Louie Gill v #13 Spencer Moore

133:  #12 Kai Orine or Troy Hohman v #13 Ethan Oakley

141: Tyler Tracy v #22 Jayden Scott

149: #21 Koy Buesgens v #5 Lachlan McNeil

157: #14 Ed Scott v #19 Sonny Santiago

165: #27 Derek Fields or Luke Ahrberg v Charlie Darracott

174: #20 Matty Singleton v #17 Joshua Ogunsanya

184: #15 Dylan Fishback v #22 Gavin Kane

197: #26 Christian Knop or Andrew Macchiavello v Cade Lautt

285: #4 Isaac Trumble v Nolan Neves

The in-state rivalry will determine which team sits atop the ACC dual standings with both teams coming in undefeated. The Pack has owned the series of late, winning the last 11 straight, but this may be the closest dual in recent years. The Tar Heels opened ACC competition with an upset win over Virginia Tech and they have looked solid up and down the lineup. 

There are some spicy head to head matches in this one to look forward to, starting at 125. Robinson and Moore have both faced multiple top-10 opponents this season with both holding a win in their most recent - Moore topped #5 Eddie Ventresca in sudden victory and Robinson took out #4 Troy Spratley 7-3 in their dual in Stillwater. 125 is a solid weight in the conference and this will be a big match in determining seeding for the ACC tournament. 

133 will be another important match. Orine is coming off a win in the Pittsburgh dual after getting injured in his loss against Oklahoma State and will be looking to gain some momentum. Oakley is 2-0 in conference but is looking for a signature win  - he has a big opportunity against a two-time All-American in Orine. 157 could be a fun one with Scott and Santiago; if they both open up there could be fireworks. Second-semester transfer Charlie Darracott looks like he will get his first shot in the lineup as a Tar Heel against Derek Fields. 174 and 184 are important matches in my eye - both for the dual and for conference tournament seeding; they should also both be tightly contested bouts. Ogunsanya is 2-0 in conference and Singleton is coming off a tough loss in TB2 against Luca Augustine. It is a similar story at 184 with Kane coming in at 2-0 and looking dangerous against Fishback who is coming off a tough loss to Reece Heller and is looking to rebound. I’m hopeful that this is a competitive dual, the conference is better when this rivalry is a fight. 

Duke at #15 Pittsburgh

125: Ethan Grimminger v #23 Nick Babin

133: Raymond Adams v Tyler Chappell

141: Christian Colman v Anthony Santaniello OR Briar Priest

149: SP O’Donnell v #22 Finn Solomon

157: Logan Ferrero v #24 Dylan Evans

165: #28 Aidan Wallace v Jared Keslar

174: Gaetano Console v #19 Luca Augustine

184: David Hussey v #14 Reece Heller

197: Kwasi Bonsu v #10 Mac Stout

285: #29 Connor Barket v #13 Dayton Pitzer

The Blue Devils drew the short straw in scheduling this year and don’t get an off week until the final week of the regular season. They travel to Pittsburgh this week for a Saturday afternoon dual against the Panthers. Duke is 0-3 so far in ACC competition while the Panthers have split their two conference duals with an upset win over Stanford and a 20-13 loss to the Wolfpack last week. Duke picked up a ranked win from Aidan Wallace over Mac Church last week and will look to continue that momentum. Jared Keslar is a scrappy match for Wallace at 165 this weekend. I’m also watching the heavyweight bout to see how each of them responds to taking a loss last week; a win here will be important for seeding. 

#16 Stanford at Oregon State

125: --  vs. #11 Maximo Renteria 

133: #6 Tyler Knox  vs. Damion Elliott

141: #21 Jason Miranda OR Jack Consiglio v Nash Singleton

149: #7 Jaden Abas v #33 Ethan Stiles OR Ayden Garver

157: #28 Grigor Cholakyan v CJ Hamblin

165: #14 Hunter Garvin OR Zach Hanson v Murphy Menke OR Steele Starren

174: #4 Lorenzo Norman OR Collin Guffey v Sean Harman

184: Tye Monteiro v TJ McDonnell

197: #22 Nick Stemmet OR Brook Byers v Trey Munoz OR Vaun Halstead

285: #32 Peter Ming v #17 Brett Mower 

The Cardinal will use their off week from conference duals to face a familiar opponent in Oregon State. Stanford has looked great in their first season in the ACC and in addition to the conference slate, they have taken on an incredibly challenging out-of-conference schedule. They are coming off a dominant performance over a patchwork UVA team last week and are highly favored in this dual, though there will be some tough tests. There are a few matches I’m looking forward to in Corvallis. Jason Miranda has looked fantastic since returning to the lineup and he will have a scrappy Nash Singleton. Jaden Abas will have a ranked matchup against Ethan Stiles which could be fun. It sounds like Trey Munoz may be out with an injury, but if he faces Nick Stemmett, it will be a great opportunity for Stemmett to pick up a big win.