WVU Travels to VT, Hosts NC State
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Jan. 28, 2016) – The West Virginia University wrestling team will face a pair of top-10 foes this weekend, as the Mountaineers travel to Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Friday to face No. 10 Virginia Tech on Friday at 7 p.m. before returning home to host No. 3 NC State in a 1 p.m. match at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday.
Live stats for both matches can be found at TrackWrestling.com. Friday’s tilt with the Hokies will be on ESPN3 while Sunday’s dual with the Wolfpack can be found at WVUsports.com.
Tickets for Sunday’s match can be purchased at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800-WVU-GAME, as well as at the WVU Ticket Office at the cost of $5 for adults, $3 for children/seniors and $2 for groups of 10 or more. Fans can also purchase tickets for the 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship in Kansas City, Missouri, at WVUGAME.com.
Sunday will serve as Youth Wrestling Day with a number of local wrestling teams in attendance. The Mountaineer coaching staff will also host a free pre-match clinic for pre-register teams starting at noon.
The Mountaineers and the Hokies have met 18 times dating back to 1951. Virginia Tech holds a 12-6 lead in the all-time series. The two last met in 2004 with West Virginia claiming a 39-13 victory in Blacksburg.
Friday's 197-pound bout against VT is slated to feature a pair of West Virginia natives as No. 7 Jacob A. Smith of Charleston will face No. 8 Jared Haught of Parkersburg. The two, who are both NCAA qualifiers, squared off earlier this season at Cliff Keen in December with Smith winning a 2-0 decision.
West Virginia will take on NC State for the fourth time in program history on Sunday, though the meeting will be the first in more than 60 years. The Wolfpack currently lead the series, 2-1, but the Mountaineers claimed a 26-7 triumph in the last meeting between the two back in 1953.
Though Mountaineer fans may be most familiar with Tony DeAngelo, the Wolfpack boast their own DeAngelo brother. Jake DeAngelo is a redshirt sophomore who wrestles at 149 pounds for NC State. Older brother Joe was an NCAA qualifier for the Wolfpack and is now an assistant coach at Hofstra.
West Virginia will wrestle ACC foes in three consecutive matches, starting with Virginia Tech on Jan. 29, NC State on Jan. 31 and rival Pitt on Feb. 7. WVU last met and ACC opponent in 2015, when the Mountaineers took a 24-14 upset win over the Panthers in Pittsburgh.
WVU Probable Lineup
125: No. 13/14 Zeke Moisey (So., 23-7) OR Ryan Elliott (r-Fr., 5-6)
133: Keegan Moore (Fr., 16-10) OR Cory Stainbrook (Jr., 5-7)
141: Tony DeAngelo (Jr., 12-15)
149: Zachary Moore (Fr., 11-10) OR James Dekrone (Sr., 7-5) OR Louis Colonna (Fr., 2-4)
157: No. 16/15 Dylan Cottrell (Jr., 23-5)
165: Connor Flynn (Fr., 13-14)
174: Ross Renzi (Sr., 11-13)
184: Bubba Scheffel (Sr., 14-10)
197: No. 7/7 Jacob A. Smith (Jr., 22-6)
HWT: A.J. Vizcarrondo (Sr., 12-14)
** Rankings via InterMat/FloWrestling
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