Hunter Bolen (left) and Trent Hidlay at the 2021 ACC Championships (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) BRISTOL, Conn. (ACCN) - For the fourth straight year, ACC wrestling fans will enjoy a dedicated night of programming on ACC Network (ACCN), the 24/7 national platform dedicated to ACC sports, as Friday Night Duals begin on Friday, January 20. ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), ACCN's digital platform available on the ESPN App, will carry additional matches throughout the remainder of the regular season.
Five duals, including four ranked matchups, highlight the Friday Night Duals slate beginning with the anticipated date between No. 8 NC State and No. 9 Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum on January 20 at 7 p.m. No. 20 Pitt travels to Virginia Tech the following week (January 27, 7 p.m.) and No. 21 North Carolina visits Pittsburgh to meet the Panthers on February 3 at 7 p.m.
Duke and Virginia meet on February 10 (7 p.m.), while rivals NC State and North Carolina clash in Chapel Hill on February 17 (7 p.m.) to close out ACCN's regular-season coverage.
Shawn Kenney and Rock Harrison, who have called multiple ACC Wrestling Championships and the past three seasons of Friday Night Duals, will be back for the 2023 slate of duals.
Weekly ACC Wrestling Guests on ACC PM
ACC PM, ACCN's weekday afternoon show from 4-7 p.m., will spotlight ACC wrestling with guests throughout the season.
ACC Wrestling Championship Coverage
ACC Network will carry the finals of the 2023 ACC Wrestling Championship live from Reynolds Coliseum at NC State on Sunday, March 5, beginning at 7 p.m. Preliminary and consolation round matches will be available on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), ACCN's digital platform available on the ESPN App. NC State has won the last four ACC wrestling crowns and five of the last seven.
Ranked Teams, Individuals
The ACC has four teams ranked in the latest NWCA team and InterMat individual rankings (Dec. 6), including two among the top 10 (No. 8 NC State and No. 9 Virginia Tech), along with No. 20 Pitt and No. 21 North Carolina.
Individually, 10 ACC wrestlers are nationally ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes by InterMat, including top-ranked Cole Matthews of Pittsburgh who sits atop the 141-pound weight class and 2022 NCAA 174-pound runner-up Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech who is currently ranked No. 3 in that same weight class. Lewis won the 165-pound NCAA title in 2019. 2021 149-pound champion, North Carolina's Austin O'Connor, is currently ranked No. 6 in the 157-pound weight class.
Additionally, NC State's Trent Hidlay (184) is ranked No. 2 nationally, while and Pitt's Nino Bonaccorsi (197) is ranked third. Virginia Tech's Bryce Andonian (157) is ranked fifth, Virginia Tech's Hunter Bolen (184) is ranked seventh, Virginia's Justin McCoy (165) and North Carolina's Clay Lautt (174) are ranked eighth, Pitt's Micky Phillippi (133) and NC State's Isaac Trumble (197) are ranked ninth and NC State's Ed Scott (157) is ranked 10th. Overall, a total of 38 ACC wrestlers hold top-33 weight class rankings.
Friday Night Duals on ACC Network
All matches start at 7 p.m.
Jan. 20 - NC State at Virginia Tech
Jan. 27 - Pitt at Virginia Tech
Feb. 3 - North Carolina at Pitt
Feb. 10 - Duke at Virginia
Feb. 17 - NC State at North Carolina
About ACC Network
Owned and operated by ESPN in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC Network (ACCN) and its digital platform ACCNX is a 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports that launched on August 22, 2019. ACCN televises more than 500 regular-season and tournament games from across the conference's 27 sponsored sports plus a complement of news and information shows and original programming. Together, ACCN and its digital platform, ACCNX, combine to feature more than 1,500 ACC events each year. ESPN has been televising ACC content since 1979 and has exclusive rights to every conference-controlled game across all sports and championships.
Carriage agreements are in place with the following video providers: Comcast's Xfinity, Cox, DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, DISH Network, Frontier, fuboTV, Hulu+ Live TV, Mediacom, Optimum, Sling TV, Spectrum TV, Suddenlink, Verizon Fios, YouTube TV, members of the NCTC, NRTC and Vivicast, among others. All ACCN games will also be available on the ESPN App to authenticated subscribers.
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