No. 7 NC State wrestling closes its dual season at home against Duke this Friday, Feb. 12. The Wolfpack comes into the matchup in near-uncharted territory for this class of wrestlers, off a loss and ranked outside the top five.
The Blue Devils come into this match winless, at 0-4, losing to their ACC opponents by a combined margin of 117. Duke has no ranked wrestlers and only a single starter with a winning record.
This is the perfect opponent for NC State heading into preparations for the ACC Championships. The Wolfpack went through a grueling stretch of ranked opponents, and this will provide it with as close as it comes to a bye week.
It also gives NC State a chance to improve on the reason why it lost for the first time in over two years: getting bonus points. Though NC State had three ranked wrestlers — including No. 2 redshirt senior Hayden Hidlay — facing unranked opponents in Blacksburg, Virginia, all came away with only decisions. If just one of them got a bonus-point win, NC State would still be perfect on the year. Head coach Pat Popolizio should have the Wolfpack ready to make a statement against the Blue Devils.
Though the match will be incredibly lopsided, the bout of the night may end up being exciting as Pack freshman Ed Scott wrestles Josh Finesilver. Living up to his pedigree as a Finesilver, Josh is the pride of this Duke team at 3-1. He’ll provide Scott with a challenge, but the freshman may be able to get back into the win column this weekend.
Looking at the Blue Devils’ prior performances, three Duke wrestlers were defeated by fall against Virginia Tech, and against Virginia, four were pinned. It remains to be seen how many pins NC State can record, but matching the Cavaliers should be feasible.
No. 11 redshirt sophomore Jarrett Trombley, if he wrestles instead of freshman Ryan Jack, will see Drake Doolittle at 133 pounds. Doolittle was pinned against UVA just 50 seconds into his bout, and Trombley will look to do the same to him. If it’s Jack, though, Doolittle has shown the ability to keep things close against unranked wrestlers, and the bout could be interesting.
At 141 pounds, No. 9 redshirt senior Tariq Wilson draws Patrick Rowland. Rowland was also pinned against Virginia, but he lasted two minutes before No. 16 Brian Courtney ended things.
No. 15 redshirt senior Thomas Bullard takes on Eric Carter at 165 pounds. Carter comes into this bout off back-to-back falls, and Bullard has had a tough year. A pin here would give his confidence a boon.
At heavyweight, No. 17 Deonte Wilson takes on Jonah Niesenbaum. Niesenbaum was pinned last week and lost a technical fall the week before. Wilson should have no problem with his opponent.
NC State’s final dual of the season comes this Friday against Duke at Reynolds Coliseum and will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra. The first bout starts at 7 p.m. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates.
