Saturday, January 30
Pittsburgh, PA
7 PM
NC State
at
#16 Pittsburgh
@PackWrestle Heads North for Two Weekend Duals
1/28/2016 11:39:00 AM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. - The No. 3 NC State wrestling team travels up North this weekend for a pair of duals on back-to-back days. The Wolfpack (18-0, 3-0 ACC) will be in ACC action at #16 Pittsburgh on Saturday night at 7 PM, before driving down and facing West Virginia on Sunday afternoon at 1 PM.
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| at Pittsburgh | at West Virginia | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 30 | Sunday, Jan. 31 |
| Time | 7 p.m. | 1 p.m. |
| Location | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Morgantown, W.Va. |
| Live Scoring | TrackWrestling.com | TrackWrestling.com |
| Live Stream | None | WVUSports.com |
| Social Media | @PackWrestle | @PackWrestle |
For the sixth straight poll, dating back to Dec. 15, NC State is ranked #3 in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll. Pittsburgh is currently at their highest ranking of the season in the same poll, at No. 16, and West Virginia was ranked in the first eight polls of the season before falling out two weeks ago.
Both duals figure to be competive, as the NC State-Pittsburgh matchup could see six bouts where both wrestlers are ranked in the current Coaches' Panel Rankings, and the West Virginia dual could see five such matchups.
Here is where @PackWrestle stands in this week's individual rankings:
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| Wrestler | Weight | Coaches | AWN | FLO | InterMat | OpenMat | WIN | Wr. Report |
| Sean Fausz | 125 | 24 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 26 |
| Jamal Morris | 133 | 28 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Kevin Jack | 141 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Tommy Gantt | 157 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Max Rohskopf | 165 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 8 |
| Pete Renda | 184 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 18 | 17 |
| Michael Boykin | 197 | 17 | 14 | 18 | 18 | -- | 15 | 16 |
| Nick Gwiazdowski | 285 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
#3 NC State Wolfpack (18-0, 3-0 ACC) Probables
125: #24 R-Fr. Sean Fausz (13-4) -or- So. Jamel Morris (7-1)
133: #28 R-Fr. Jamal Morris (10-3)
141: #3 So. Kevin Jack (15-3) -or- Fr. Will Clark (8-7)
149: R-So. Beau Donahue (7-8) -or- R-Fr. Chandler Pyke (7-5)
157: #4 R-Sr. Tommy Gantt (16-0) -or- R-So. Chad Pyke (14-3)
165: #7 Jr. Max Rohskopf (8-1) -or- R-Jr. Lee Davis (6-11)
174: So. Nicky Hall (10-6)
184: #15 Jr. Pete Renda (17-3)
197: #17 So. Michael Boykin (12-5) -or- R-Fr. Malik McDonald (13-5)
285: #1 R-Sr. Nick Gwiazdowski (21-0) -or- R-Jr. Mike Kosoy (17-6)
#16 Pittsburgh Panthers (9-2, 1-0 ACC) Probables
125: #26 Fr. LJ Bentley (14-5) -or- R-Fr. Jake Gromacki (14-3)
133: #20 So. Dom Forys (18-2)
141: #10 Jr. Mikey Racciato (12-2)
149: Fr. Robert Lee (10-9) -or- R-So. Nick Zanetta (15-8)
157: R-Sr. Ronnie Garbinsky (11-10) -or- Fr. Taleb Rahmani (2-4)
165: #26 R-So. Cody Wiercioch (12-7)
174: #26 Fr. TeShan Campbell (14-5)
184: R-Fr. Zach Bruce (9-12)
197: #25 R-Sr. Nick Bonaccorsi (14-5)
285: #17 R-So. Ryan Solomon (10-5) -or- Jr. John Rizzo (12-8)
Key Matchups
141: #3 Kevin Jack (15-3) vs. #10 Mike Racciato (12-2)
Jack has won his last nine matches dating back to Dec. 30, 5-0 in duals during the stretch - including a 3-0 start in ACC duals. He is 3-3 on the season against ranked foes, including a Monday night 5-3 (TB-1) win over #11 Ward of UNC. Racciato was the 2015 ACC Champion and runner-up in 2014 at 149 pounds, and a two-time NCAA Qualifier in each of his first two seasons. He had won 12 straight before dropping a 7-2 decision over current #1 Heil of Oklahoma State last weekend. This marks the first career matchup between the two.
285: #1 Nick Gwiazdowski (21-0) vs. #17 Ryan Solomon (10-5)
Gwiazdowski puts his perfect career ACC dual winning streak on the line (14-0 in three seasons) and he has also won his last 25 matches against a ranked foe. Solomon was the ACC runner-up at heavyweight last season, and an NCAA Qualifier, getting a pair of wins. Ranked the entire season this year, Solomon is 6-2 in duals including 1-0 in ACC competition, pinning Duke. Gwiazdowski won both matchups last season, pinning Solomon in the regular season dual in 1:56 and then scoring a 14-3 major decision for the ACC Champioships bout.
Series vs. Pittsburgh
Saturday's dual marks just the third meeting between NC State and Pittsburgh. Pitt joined the ACC for the 2013-14 season, and the two teams both won their home matchups since then. NC State fell at #19 Pitt 27-7 in 2014, then came back and defeated the #14 Panthers 27-12 last year in Reynolds Coliseum.
Last Year vs. Pittsburgh
Jumping out to a 15-0 lead after the first three bouts, the 25th-ranked NC State wrestling team didn't let up and pulled off a 27-12 upset of #14 Pittsburgh in ACC action. The Wolfpack scored three pins during the dual, and defeated its second top-20 foe in just over a week.
How NC State Probables fared last year:
141: Kevin Jack (NCSU) fall Ben Ross; 5:31
149: #19 Mikey Racciato (Pitt) dec. Beau Donahue; 7-2
165: #22 Max Rohskopf (NCSU) dec. Cody Wiercioch; 3-2
174: #8 Tyler Wilps (Pitt) dec. #21 Pete Renda; 11-4
184: #2 Max Thomusseit (Pitt) dec. Nicky Hall; 10-4
197: Michael Boykin (NCSU) dec. #19 Nick Bonaccorsi; 6-1
285: #1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) fall Ryan Soloman; 1:56
West Virginia Mountaineers (5-6, 0-2 Big 12) Probables
125: #13 So. Zeke Moisey (23-7) -or- R-Fr. Ryan Elliott (5-6)
133: Fr. Keegan Moore (16-10) -or- Jr. Cory Stainbrook (5-7)
141: Jr. Tony DeAngelo (12-15)
149: Fr. Zachary Moore (11-10) -or- Sr. James Dekrone (7-5) -or- Fr. Louis Colonna (2-4)
157: #14 Jr. Dylan Cottrell (23-5)
165: #27 Fr. Connor Flynn (13-14)
174: Sr. Ross Renzi (11-13)
184: #30 Sr. Bubba Scheffel (14-10)
197: #8 Jr. Jacob A. Smith (22-6)
285: Sr. A.J. Vizcarrondo (12-14)
Note: WVU competes in a dual at Virginia Tech Friday note, so records will change
Key Matchups
125: #24 Sean Fausz (13-4) vs. #13 Zeke Moisey (23-7)
Fausz enters this weekend 13-4 overall (perfect 10-0 in bonus point wins) and 7-3 in duals - with two of those three losses decisions to top-10 wrestlers. Moisey was the NCAA runner-up last season as a true freshman, the first unseeded wrestler to make the NCAA finals since 2003. This season he is 8-3 in duals, and third on WVU with 26 points in those wins.
157: #4 Tommy Gantt (16-0) vs. #14 Dylan Cottrell (23-5)
Gantt enters the weekend a perfect 16-0 (15-0 at 157 pounds) and 10-0 in duals with seven bonus point wins. Gantt has defeated all four ranked opponents he has faced this season, but just one of those bouts came in a dual. Cottrell is a transfer from Appalachian State who sat out last season, but he was the 2014 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and a NCAA Qualifier before transferring. This season he is 10-1 in duals and leads the Mountaineers with 40 points in those wins and nine major decisions overall. In 2014, then #10 Cottrell picked up a 13-11 over NC State's Brian Hamann (redshirting this season) at 149 pounds in a dual.
Series vs. West Virgina
This marks the first-ever matchup between NC State and West Virginia.
* - Team Rankings according to USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll
* - Individual Rankings according to 1/21 Coaches Panel Rankings
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