No. 10 Virginia Tech wrestling beats No. 7 N.C. State to tie for ACC title

The home team won the match — and a share of the ACC regular-season title.

No. 10 Virginia Tech won seven of the 10 bouts to defeat No. 7 North Carolina State 21-10 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

The Wolfpack (11-2, 5-1) would have won the regular-season title outright if it had beaten the Hokies. But the Hokies (9-2, 5-1) defeated their arch rival to grab a share of the crown.

"It's just such a good group of guys. We've got such a good culture," said Andy Smith, a fifth-year Tech senior from Christiansburg. "Winning the ACC title, beating those guys down like that, it felt really good. This is home. This place is awesome."

The match drew a program-record crowd of 6,104 loud fans.

"It was rocking in there," Tech coach Tony Robie said. "The home-mat advantage is huge in this match. It makes a big difference."

"They've got a great team. Great atmosphere here," State coach Pat Popolizio said. "Great test tonight."

Tech, State and No. 16 North Carolina (9-5, 5-1) finished in a three-way tie for first in the seven-team league. The Hokies were presented with a trophy after the match.

"It's something that we needed for our program," said Sam Latona, a graduate student in his sixth year at Tech. "To win seven out of 10 matches (Friday) and … do what we did, I'm a little biased, but I think we're the best team in the ACC."

This is the 12th time that Tech has either shared the ACC regular-season title or won it outright. Tech tied for first for the second time in three years.

"I wish we weren't sharing it, but … I'm just proud of the way our guys competed tonight," Robie said. "Our guys fought hard. We had a lot of gritty wins.

"Winning championships and getting trophies (are) always great. … It was fun. That's the best part of what we do as a program.

"We've been competitive for a long time. … We're in the mix for this thing every year."

Tech handed State its first ACC loss since the Hokies beat the Wolfpack two years ago.

The Hokies have won six straight matches since suffering back-to-back losses at Oklahoma State and UNC.

"It's the right time of year to be competing (at) your best," Robie said. "It was one of the better matches we've wrestled this season. And we're healthy, too — that matters.

"If we can continue to stay healthy and keep these guys going in the right direction, I'm excited about what's ahead."

Two starters, including NCAA champ Caleb Henson, had missed the 20-17 loss at UNC.

"Our lineup was so beat up," Smith said. "If we were to dual UNC again, we'd put on a show, kind of like we did tonight."

"Every year … we've had a defining moment and that North Carolina match was kind of that defining moment for us," Latona said. "We lost, and we had to really rally and have some heart-to-hearts with some guys and really be coachable. … We did a good job of that."

Next up for Tech is the ACC tournament on March 9 at Duke. The Hokies have not won the tournament since 2018.

"That's definitely on my mind. … I want that," fourth-year junior Eddie Ventresca said.

"Our guys are confident," Robie said. "We have a lot of momentum right now."

After winning a coin flip, Popolizio chose to start Friday's match with the 141-pound bout. That worked out fine for the Hokies, who won the first four matches to build a 12-0 lead. Tech led the rest of the way.

Tenth-ranked Sam Latona beat Troy Hohman 7-0 at 141. It was the final home match for Latona.

"I bleed maroon and orange. I love this place," Latona said. "I really call this place home.

"I'm just grateful that I was able to come here and do this. I took a moment after the match to just think about how grateful I am."

The top-ranked Henson beat Koy Buesgens 5-1 at 149.

Redshirt freshman Rafael Hipolito Jr., who had lost in overtime to a Pittsburgh foe the previous week, beat No. 15 Ed Scott of State 3-2 at 157. With the match tied at 2, the 12th-ranked Hipolito earned a point on an escape in the third period.

Tech redshirt freshman Mac Church beat Derek Fields 2-1 in overtime at 165 to give Tech a 12-0 lead.

Robie said the wins by Hipolito and Church were huge.

"Hipolito, … I'm really proud of him," Robie said. "He didn't wrestle well last week at Pitt. … He answered the bell (Friday). Scott's hard to wrestle."

State's Matty Singleton beat Lennox Wolak 12-2 at 174. No. 14 Dylan Fishback of State defeated Thomas Stewart Jr. 4-1 after a video review awarded Fishback a three-point takedown at the end of regulation.

The 16th-ranked Smith beat Christian Knop 2-1 at 197 to extend the lead to 15-7. It was the final home match for Smith.

"Looking up at all those fans, there's no better place I could imagine wrestling," Smith said. "I'm super biased. I'm from Christiansburg. I could look up into the crowd and (know) half the people up there.

"It feels good to go out on a win."

Fourth-ranked heavyweight Isaac Trumble beat Jimmy Mullen 5-3 to cut the lead to 15-10 with two matches to go.

The fifth-ranked Ventresca beat third-ranked Vince Robinson 4-1 at 125 to extend the lead to 18-10 and clinch the victory for the Hokies. With the match tied at 1 in the third period, Ventresca recorded a takedown with 40 seconds to go as the crowd roared.

"That's a fun crowd to wrestle in front of," Ventresca said. "That was probably my biggest match … in Cassell. The crowd got into that one, for sure. I felt it through my feet, my body."

No. 13 Connor McGonagle of Tech beat No. 14 Kai Orine 5-2 in OT at 133 to close out the match.