No. 8 Virginia Tech wrestling dropped its ACC opener to No. 22 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Friday night, 20-17.
It was the Hokies’ (3-2, 0-1 ACC) first loss to the Tar Heels (5-4, 1-0) since 2020.
Despite splitting the match with five wins and five losses against UNC, Tech gave up five bonus points in the dual while only earning two — the ultimate difference-maker.
The Hokies began the night with an emphatic 14-2 major decision victory from No. 25 Mac Church (165) over North Carolina’s Collin Caragan. The redshirt freshman collected three takedowns in the first two periods to give Tech an early 4-0 lead.
North Carolina’s No. 20 Joshua Ogunsanya took down No. 13 Lennox Wolak (174) a match later, 7-5, to cut Tech’s lead to one. Then UNC’s No. 24 Gavin Kane pinned No. 29 TJ Stewart (184) in the ensuing match to give the Tar Heels a 9-4 advantage.
Tech punched back with impressive victories from No. 8 Andy Smith (197) and No. 15 Jimmy Mullen (285).
Smith grinded out a 4-1 victory over North Carolina’s Cade Lautt in the sudden victory period to pick up his third dual win of the season. The Christiansburg, Va., native moved to 5-3 on the year with the win.
Mullen put on a clinic against North Carolina’s Nolan Neves in the heavyweight match, racking up five takedowns in his 20-8 major decision win. Despite leading just 7-5 at the end of the second period, the redshirt freshman exploded for 13 points in the third to secure the bonus-point victory.Halfway through the dual, Virginia Tech led North Carolina 11-9.
North Carolina’s No. 20 Spencer Moore took the lead back for the home team with his 4-1 upset win over No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (125) in overtime. Ventresca earned a clutch escape point in the final 30 seconds of the match to tie it, but couldn’t secure the win in OT.
Dillon Campbell (133) and North Carolina’s No. 15 Ethan Oakley went to the extra period in the following match as well, with the Tar Heel wrestler taking down the Tech freshman 4-1. Campbell fought valiantly throughout the length of the match, collecting over a minute of riding time and fending off shots from Oakley until eventually falling in OT.
No. 11 Sam Latona (141) made up some ground for Tech soon after. He shut out North Carolina’s No. 27 Jayden Scott in a 2-0 win to move to 16-6 on the season. Following Latona’s triumph, Tech trailed UNC 15-14 with two matches left.
However, North Carolina’s No. 6 Lachlan McNeil cushioned the Tar Heels’ lead with his 22-6 tech fall win over Hunter Mason (149) in the next bout.
Although he wasn’t able to tie the dual with a pin, No. 13 Rafael Hipolito picked up a solid 14-7 win over North Carolina’s No. 26 Sonny Santiago to close out the night.
The Hokies have lost two straight duals — to then-No. 3 Oklahoma State and the Tar Heels — and will look to right the ship against Appalachian State on Jan. 19.
Results:
125: No. 20 Spencer Moore (UNC) dec. No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (VT), 4-1 (SV)
133: No. 15 Ethan Oakley (UNC) dec. Dillon Campbell (VT), 4-1 (SV)
141: No. 11 Sam Latona (VT) dec. No. 27 Jayden Scott (UNC), 2-0
149: No. 6 Lachlan McNeil (UNC) tech fall Hunter Mason (VT), 22-6
157: No. 13 Rafael Hipolito (VT) dec. No. 26 Sonny Santiago (UNC), 14-7
165: No. 25 Mac Church (VT) maj dec. Collin Caragan (UNC), 14-2
174: No. 20 Joshua Ogunsanya (UNC) dec. No. 13 Lennox Wolak (VT), 7-5
184: No. 24 Gavin Kane (UNC) win by fall No. 29 TJ Stewart (VT), 3:29
197: No. 8 Andy Smith (VT) dec. Cade Lautt (UNC), 4-1 (SV)
285: No. 15 Jimmy Mullen (VT) maj dec. Nolan Neves (UNC), 20-8