The doors to Carmichael Arena will open at 10 a.m., with first- round action set to begin at 11 a.m. The semifinals are set for 1 p.m., followed by the semifinal consolation matches at 3:30. The consolation finals are set for 5 p.m., followed by the championship matches at 7 p.m. All seating for the ACC Championship is general admission. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door.
Three Tar Heels earned first round byes as the brackets were announced Wednesday night with sophomore Corey Mock claiming the top seed at 157 pounds, senior Thomas Ferguson claiming the No. 2 seed at 184 pounds and the reigning 197 pound ACC champion Zac Bennett getting the No. 2 seed.
Carolina will enter the championships with three wrestlers earning No. 4 seeds, three No. 5 seeds and one No. 6 seed.
Sophomore Brian Bokoski will get the call at 125 pounds for the Tar Heels and will take on the No. 4 seed NC State's Coltin Fought in the first round with a potential meeting with top seed Matt Snyder of Virginia in the second round.
The 125 pound division will have three NCAA automatic bids on the line with Snyder as the lone ranked wrestler as he is tabbed No. 11 by Intermat this week.
Senior Brock LiVorio has come out victorious in four of his last five bouts coming into the ACC Championships and will be the No. 4 seed in the 133 pound bracket for the Tar Heels. LiVorio will open against Duke's Brandon Gambucci with a potential matchup against top seed Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) in the second round. Carter is ranked No. 6 in the nation by Intermat.
There will be three NCAA automatic qualifier spots on the line at 133 pounds.
Freshman Evan Henderson is just three wins shy of 30 for the season as the 141 pounder has produced a stellar first campaign as a Tar Heel. Henderson ranked as high as No. 15 in the country at one point this season and will be battling for one of the four NCAA automatic qualifier spots available on Saturday.
Henderson will open against Tanner Hough of Duke in the first round and would meet Virginia'a Nick Nelson in the second round. Nelson is one of three ACC wrestlers ranked among the top 20 in the country at 141 pounds as he leads the way at No. 7 with NC State's Darius Little (No. 10) and Virginia Tech's Zach Neibert (No. 20) just behind.
Freshman Nick Heilmann has turned it on the last few weeks of the dual season and will get the call at 149 pounds for the Tar Heels. Heilmann has won four straight dual bouts in the month of February and will be the No. 6 seed this weekend. Heilmann will take on Virginia Tech's Nick Brascetta in the first round with a potential meeting with Maryland's Ben Dorsay in the second round.
Virginia's Gus Sako is the lone wrestler ranked by Intermat as he checks in at No. 20 this week and will be the top overall seed. Two NCAA automatic qualifier spots are available at 149 pounds.
Sophomore Corey Mock is in good position to earn one of the three NCAA automatic qualifier spots at 157 pounds as he has been tabbed the No. 1 seed. Mock closed the year winning nine of his last 10 bouts and posted a perfect 4-0 mark in ACC duals on the year.
Mock will take on the winner of Colton Palmer of NC State and Cameron Hurd of Virginia Tech in the second round with No. 2 seed Jedd Moore of Virignia, No. 3 Kyle John of Maryland and No. 6 Immanuel Kerr-Brown of Duke on the other side of the bracket.
Mock is one of two Tar Heels who competed in the NCAA Championships a year ago.
Senior Kyle Kiss earned the No. 4 seed at 165 pounds for the Tar Heels and will face NC State's Nigel Jones in the first round. Kiss downed Jones in early February and helped spur Kiss on to closing with four wins in five bouts to close the season.
The ACC will have three NCAA automatic qualifier spots available at 165 pounds with three wrestlers among the top 16 in the country according to Intermat. Kiss will have the chance to meet top overall seed Josh Asper of Maryland in the second round who is ranked No. 2 in the country. Virginia Tech's Peter Yates is tabbed No. 8 in the country and Virginia's Nick Sulzer is ranked No. 16.
Freshman Alex Utley will face No. 4 seed Vinny Waldhauser of Virginia in the first round who Utley downed by a 5-0 margin earlier in the year. A win by Utley will earn him a bout against top seed Maryland's Jimmy Sheptock in the second round. Sheptock is ranked No. 11 in the country by Intermat.
The ACC will have two NCAA automatic qualifier spots from the 174 pound bracket.
Senior Thomas Ferguson will be making his third straight appearance in the ACC Championships after earning All-ACC honors as a sophomore. Ferguson will have a first round by thanks to the No. 2 seed and will face either No. 3 Diego Bencomo of Duke or No. 6 Matthew Snook of Maryland in the second round.
There will be two NCAA automatic qualifier spots available at 184 pounds with Virginia's Jon Fausey the top ranked wrestler at No. 15 in the country by Intermat.
Sophomore Zac Bennett will be looking to become the first Tar Heel since Matt Kenny in 2001 and 2002 to win back-to-back ACC Championships when he looks for his second ACC Championship at 197 pounds. Bennett will be the No. 2 seed in the bracket behind Maryland's Christian Boley who is ranked No. 5 in the country by Intermat.
Bennett will open with a first round bye before taking on No. 3 Nick Vetterlein of Virginia Tech or No. 6 seed Brian Self of Duke. The ACC will have one automatic qualifier spot come from the 197 pound bracket.
Senior Nick Tenpenny will get the call at heavyweight for the Tar Heels as the No. 5 seed. Tenpenny will open against Duke's Robby Mello with a potential meeting with Maryland's Spencer Myers, the top seed, in the second round. Myers is ranked No. 7 in the country by Intermat this week.
The ACC will have one NCAA automatic qualifier spot available at heavyweight.
Every bout during the ACC Championships will be shown live on ESPN3 with a two-mat set up through the semifinals before breaking down to one mat for the finals.
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