Friday, February 15
Chapel Hill, N.C.
6:30 p.m.
NC State
at
North Carolina
#RivalryWeek: #10 @PackWrestle Travels to #13 UNC Friday Night
2/14/2019 2:25:00 PM | Wrestling
NC State has won last five meetings in series
RALEIGH, N.C. – In a battle of Tobacco Road foes, #10 NC State will make the short drive over to Chapel Hill to face #13 North Carolina Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The Wolfpack (14-3, 2-1 ACC) have won five in a row in the series, while the Tar Heels (11-5, 3-0) currently sit atop the ACC team standings.
| #10 NC State (14-3) at #13 North Carolina (11-5) | |
| Date | Friday, Feb. 15 |
| Time | 6:30 p.m. |
| Location | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Arena | Carmichael Arena |
| Tickets | Free |
| Streaming | ACC Network Extra |
| Live Stats | TrackWrestling.com |
| Social Media | @PackWrestle |
QUICK TAKEDOWNS
• This will be the 100th meeting between the two schools since they both joined the ACC (1955).
• NC State has won the last five matchups by an average of 10.8 points.
• NC State has won seven of its last eight ACC road duals, outscoring foes an average of 25.5-11.0.
• NC State is ranked No. 10 in this week's NWCA Coaches' Poll, 55 straight polls in the top-10.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
#10 NC State Wolfpack (14-3, 2-1 ACC)
125: #11 R-Sr. Sean Fausz (8-1)
133: #11 R-So. Tariq Wilson (12-2)
141: #23 R-Sr. Jamel Morris (19-3)
149: #7 Gr. Justin Oliver (14-3)
157: #4 R-So. Hayden Hidlay (16-2)
165: #17 R-So. Thomas Bullard (17-6)
174: #23 R-So. Daniel Bullard (16-7)
184: #5 R-So. Nick Reenan (11-2)
197: #21 R-Sr. Malik McDonald (14-8)
285: Fr. Colin Lawler (15-9) –OR- Fr. Deonte Wilson (15-9)
#13 North Carolina Tar Heels (11-5, 3-0 ACC)
125: Fr. Joe Heilmann (10-12)
133: #19 R-Sr. Gary Wayne Harding (22-8)
141: #19 R-Jr. A.C. Headlee (16-6) –OR- R-Fr. Jaime Hernandez (9-4)
149: #5 R-Fr. Austin O'Connor (26-3)
157: #20 R-So. Josh McClure (19-9)
165: R-So. Sawyer Davidson (7-12) –OR- R-So. Will MacDonald (7-11)
174: #29 R-So. Devin Kane (18-8)
184: #14 R-Sr. Chip Ness (16-8)
197: R-Fr. Chasen Blair (11-9) –OR- Fr. Brandon Whitman (17-8)
285: #16 Sr. Cory Daniel (19-7)
^ - Individual rankings are from the 2/14 Coaches' Panel
FEATURED MATCHUPS
149: #7 Justin Oliver vs. #5 Austin O'Connor
The ACC has three wrestlers ranked among the top-seven nationally at 149 pounds, with O'Connor at #4 and Oliver at #8. Oliver is coming of back-to-back major decisions in ACC duals, while O'Connor is 3-0 in ACC action with a pair of bonus point wins. This is the first career matchup between the two.
184: #5 Nick Reenan vs. #14 Chip Ness
The ACC has four wrestlers ranked among the top-14 at 184 pounds, with Reenan at #5 and returning All-American Ness at #14. Reenan has split a pair of ACC duals since returning to the lineup after missing a month of action, while Ness has lost back-to-back ACC duals against top-12 opponents. This is the first career matchup between the two.
WE CONTROL OUR DESTINY
Despite an 18-16 home loss to Pitt last weekend, NC State still controls its own destiny when it comes to winning a second straight ACC Dual Championship. If the Wolfpack wins out, NC State repeats as regular season champions.
UNC sits atop the ACC at 3-0 as the two battle this weekend. Virginia Tech is at 2-1, and the Pack and Hokies conclude the season next weekend. Pitt already has two ACC losses. If NC State wins out vs. UNC and VT, the 4-1 mark will be the best in the conference.
This season, NC State is attempting to win back-to-back ACC regular season titles for the first time since 2001-02.
NINE RANKED IN SECOND COACHES' PANEL RANKINGS
In the Feb. 14 Coaches' Panel Rankings, nine of the 10 Wolfpack starters were ranked, the highest mark in the ACC. The Pack had three among the top-8 of their weight class and another two among the top-11.
All five starters from the 2016 #1 recruiting class were ranked: Tariq Wilson (#11 at 133), Hayden Hidlay (#4 at 157), Thomas Bullard (#17 at 165), Daniel Bullard (#23 at 174) and Nick Reenan (#5 at 184).
In their final seasons, Sean Fausz (#11 at 125), Jamel Morris (#23 at 141), Justin Oliver (#7 at 149), and Malik McDonald (#21 at 197) were all ranked too.
PACK VS. RANKED
NC State is 19-8 against ranked foes over the last four seasons, including an impressive 9-5 in such matchups in duals outside of Raleigh. NC State's final two foes, both on the road, are ranked: #13 UNC, #14 Va. Tech. This year, NC State is 4-3 vs. ranked foes.
HIDLAY GETTING IT DONE
Hayden Hidlay started his season 5-2 with a pair of top-10 losses. Since his last loss (Dec. 16), he has put up impressive numbers.
Hidlay has won each of his last 11 matches, all dual wins. In this span, he has eight bonus point wins - outscoring his foes 134-39, with a pin as well. In the 11 duals, he has scored 46 team points for the Pack at 157 pounds - avg. of 4.2 per dual.
MORRIS TAKES CONTROL AT 141
Since taking the starting spot at 141 pounds in mid-January, R-Sr. Jamel Morris is a perfect 6-0 in duals. He has outscored those six foes 57-5 (with a pin), and has not conceded a takedown.
He is the only wrestler at 3-0 in ACC action at 141 pounds, and one of 12 ACC wrestlers 3-0 in all weights thus far.
SERIES VS. UNC
NC State and North Carolina will be facing each other in a dual for the 100th time since the start of ACC competition (1955). The Tar Heels currently lead the overall series, 51-46-2, with NC State winning the last five matchups by an average of 10.8 points.
The Wolfpack will be looking for its sixth straight win in the series, the most for NC State since 1981-84 (7 in a row).
LAST YEAR VS. UNC
#6 NC State won eight of the 10 individual bouts and defeated #24 North Carolina 26-7 in Reynolds Coliseum. After two bouts the Tar Heels held a 4-3 lead, but the Wolfpack roared back winning six straight matches to take a 23-4 lead heading into the last two bouts. The ACC dual featured seven matches of ranked vs. ranked wrestlers.
How This Year's Probables Fared:
125: #4 Sean Fausz (NCSU) major dec. James Szymanski; 16-2
133: #19 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. #20 Zach Sherman; 4-1
157: #3 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. #17 Kennedy Monday; 12-6
174: #16 Ethan Ramos (UNC) major dec. #19 Daniel Bullard; 17-8
🚨 New Coaches' Panel Rankings 🚨@PackWrestle with an ACC-best 9️⃣ total ranked, 3️⃣ in top-8 in their weight class, and 5️⃣ in the top-11!#PackMentality pic.twitter.com/8MP0tZhwYr
— NC State Wrestling 🤼♂️ (@PackWrestle) February 14, 2019
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
#PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 142 - R-So. Koy Buesgens
Wednesday, November 12
#PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 141 - Weight-by-Weight Season Preview
Wednesday, November 05
#PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 140 - Returning All-American Isaac Trumble
Thursday, October 23
#PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 139 - WORLD CHAMPION Trent Hidlay
Friday, September 26