The No. 3 NC State wrestling team flexed on the competition this Sunday, as it defeated the reigning ACC champion Virginia Cavaliers 35-7 at Dorton Arena.
For redshirt senior Tommy Gantt, the matchup was one he and the team had been anticipating for a while.
“I took a picture of them holding the championship trophy last year and put it on my wall,” Gantt said. “I won’t ever forget that, and we won’t let that happen ever again.”
The meet against the No. 17 Cavaliers was the first in a seven-match stretch against opponents ranked among the National Wrestling Collegiate Association’s top-25 teams. Head coach Pat Popolizio knew going into the match that the team was capable of starting the stretch strong.
“What we’ve been doing the last couple months has been preparing for this stretch,” Popolizio said. “We knew when we set the schedule that we were going to be up for the challenge.”
The duals began with heavyweight redshirt senior Nick Gwiazdowski taking the mats for the Wolfpack against Virginia’s Patrick Gillen. “Gwiz” made quick work of his opponent, completing a tech-fall at 19-3 just moments into the second round of the bout to put the Wolfpack up 5-0 to start the bout.
NC State continued the dominance when redshirt freshman Sean Fausz earned the win at 125 pounds against Will Mason in a defensive battle 8-4, to extend the lead 8-0 for the Wolfpack.
Jamal Morris took the mats next against No. 6 George DiCamillo at 133 pounds, with DiCamillo getting the early advantage against Morris, 6-0 in the first. Morris was unable to get any momentum going in the match, falling 17-2, allowing the Cavs to get back in the match 8-5.
At 141, No. 3 Kevin Jack squashed any momentum that the Cavs gained from the previous bout, defeating Zack Watson, with a dominating 10-0 win to extend the Wolfpack lead, 12-4.
The match was also NC State’s alumni day, with many former Wolfpack wrestlers in attendance. During the intermission, the NC State wrestling team honored alumnus and 2009 national champion Darrion Caldwell. Caldwell is currently competing in mixed martial arts, posting a career 8-0 record and preparing for his next Bellator fight against Joe Warren.
The two most exciting matches bookended intermission when redshirt sophomore Beau Donahue at 149 and Gantt at 157 had to claw their way through tight matches to defeat their opponents 9-6 and 11-9, respectively, to give the Pack a commanding 18-4 lead. Donahue felt the support from the crowd may have played a role in pulling off the victory.
“I try not to pay attention to it, so I can get in a zone and focus on the match,” Donahue said. “When you’re at home, and you have all those people cheering for you, it makes you want to perform and show the home crowd what you can do.”
Junior Max Rohskopf got the pin halfway through the first round of the 165 bout, putting the Wolfpack up 24-4. Sophomore Nicky Hall then followed up with a tech fall to put the Wolfpack up 29-4. Eventually, the Wolfpack closed out the Cavs, 35-7. Gantt pointed to the team’s conditioning as a major factor for the victory.
“We just kept working,” Gantt said. “Virginia, not to talk junk about them, they aren’t the most conditioned team. I just felt in my match, if I kept working my guy, I could open it up.”
The Wolfpack has a week off to rest before it continues end-of-season schedule against UNC-Chapel Hill. Donahue noted that playing an in-state rival will be a major motivator in preparation for the duals.
“It’s another in-state rival and a top-20 team,” Donahue said. “We just need to do what we’ve been doing all year. Honestly, no team can compete with us when we are on our game and dominating.”
The Wolfpack faces the Tar Heels Monday at 7 p.m. on the North Carolina State Fairgrounds at Dorton Arena, with the opportunity to jump into the top ranking in the NWCA top 25 on the line.
