The N.C. State wrestling team is set to open its conference schedule this weekend, as the Wolfpack hosts Virginia (3-1, 0-1 ACC) and Virginia Tech (3-2, 1-1 ACC) in Reynolds Coliseum.  The Cavaliers and the Hokies , nationally ranked No. 21 and No. 17 respectively, will provide a stern early season test for the Pack. State carries a 3-2 record into its ACC slate. 

Redshirt senior Darius Little battled some of the best wrestlers in the nation while finishing second in the South Scuffle tournament earlier this month. Little said he felt dissatisfied with the team’s performance so far this season.

“I think we have been doing mediocre,” Little said. “We could have easily been 5-0, especially against the Citadel which we lost on criteria. In the match against Bloomsburg we didn’t capitalize on positions, especially in the upper weights, and gave away easy points.”

Little, ranked No. 9 in school history with 87 wins, said he felt humbled by breaking into the top-10 record book. However, the Thomasville native does not feel he has reached his personal expectations for the season.

“I am happy to be ranked among some of the best in N.C. State history,” Little said. “But I am still hungry and I still need to prove myself that I deserve to be there. In the beginning of the year, I never would have thought I would have nine losses by now. I honestly thought I would be undefeated or lost one and would be ranked in the top 10 easily. 

“But you know certain things happen and you have to bounce back.” 

For this weekend’s clash between Virginia and Virginia Tech, Little said he was very motivated and the team was fully ready to face them.

“I just cannot stand either one of those schools [Virginia and Virginia Tech], so it will mean a lot to me to beat them,” Little said. “I haven’t beat them in my career since I have been here.

“We are actually way healthier than we have ever been, so I hope we can go out and kill these two teams.”

According to Robert O’Neill, one of the many freshmen starting this year for the Pack, the players and coaches have worked together to develop effective strategies to handle in-conference opposition.

“Me, Coach Pritts and Coach Anceravage have been working on a lot of stuff for ACC competition,” O’Neill said. “This weekend we have a really good game plan setup for UVA and Virginia Tech, and I am just going to go out and execute.”

O’Neill said he was also looking forward to settle a personal battle going into the weekend.

“This UVA kid, I lost to him early in the season but I have been getting a lot better lately,” O’Neill said. “We have a good game plan and I am really confident of going out there and getting the win.”

In year No. 7 with the Wolfpack, coach Carter Jordan said he has very simple expectations from his team, and fulfilling them could bring them success.

“Our expectations are that we wrestle hard, smart and as fast we can when we go out there,” Jordan said. “In terms of individual matches, duels and things of that nature, those tend to take care of themselves if we do those things.”

Jordan, whose team has five freshmen starting, said it was a cause of optimism from the long-term point of view and that it would be a good learning experience for them.

“It says a great thing about the future,” Jordan said. “These guys got to grow up and they have been wrestling for three months now. By the end of January, they are not going to be able to use the fact that they are freshmen anymore. I’ll be really pleased if they can go out for every match and wrestle as hard as they can.”

Jordan gave due respect to his opposition and said the team would need to minimize its mistakes in order to come out on top.

“Tomorrow will be a tough task,” Jordan said. “Both Virginia and Virginia Tech are ranked coming in here and are good teams, so we have our work cut out for us. We don’t have to do anything extra special, to win tomorrow and on Sunday, we just have to wrestle well. 

“We can’t have a glitch anywhere or else we will be in trouble.”

Friday night’s match versus Virginia is set for 7 p.m. and Sunday’s match against Virginia Tech will be at 2 p.m.