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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The 14th-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling squad claimed the Atlantic Coast Conference dual-meet title for the second time in school history emphatically on Sunday night at Cassell Coliseum, with a 50-0 victory over NC State and a 28-15 decision over Duke.

With the victories, the Hokies moved to 20-1 and 5-0 in ACC dual meet competitions on the season, marking the second time since joining the ACC Tech has gone undefeated in conference dual meet play. The Hokies went 5-0 in the ACC in 2004-05 as conference dual meet champions. NC State dropped to 4-14-1, 0-4 in the ACC, while Duke fell to 8-5, 1-4 in the conference.

“We made big steps this year,” Tech head coach Kevin Dresser said. “I give these guys credit. All year long they stepped up and did a good job. That was one of our goals, to win the ACC regular season, and now we want to win the ACC Tournament.”

The Hokies were determined to claim the conference dual-meet championship and it showed. Tech dominated the Wolfpack 50-0 in the first meet of the doubleheader, for the school’s largest margin of victory since a 56-0 drubbing of Gardner-Webb in 2000. The Hokies won all 10 matches, five via pins and two by way of forfeits.

Freshman Jarrod Garnett got the scoring started quickly for the Hokies, pinning Mike Moreno of NC State in 2:11 at 125 pounds. After the Wolfpack forfeited at 133 pounds, sophomore Chris Diaz, ranked 19th at 141 pounds faced off against 18th-ranked Joe Caramanica of NC State. Diaz fell behind 4-0 early, but earned a reversal that quickly turned into a two-point near fall to even the score. A takedown in the second period, followed by another in the third, sealed the bout for Diaz 11-8.

After another NC State forfeit at 149 pounds, freshman Jesse Dong put together an inspiring performance at 157 pounds. Dong suffered a leg injury in the second period, already up 2-0 in the match, but fought through the pain to accumulate 3:01 of riding time and hold on to defeat 19th-ranked Kody Hamrah 5-1.

At 165 pounds, sophomore Matt Epperly stuck Quinton Godley of NC State at the 2:37 mark, and freshman Anthony Trongone earned a 4-2 decision against the Wolfpack’s Jake Burge to push the Tech lead to 33-0.

Sophomores Tommy Spellman and D.J. Bruce pinned their opponents at 184 and 197 pounds, respectively. Sophomore David Marone scored a tech fall, 16-0, against NC State’s Austin Haigler to close out the match for Tech, 50-0.

The Hokies rested several starters in the next match against Duke, but compiled several strong performances to beat the Blue Devils 28-15, and ensure the ACC dual-meet championship.

Garnett again gave the Hokies the early lead, with a 10-4 decision over Peter Terrezza. Freshman Brock LiVorio fell victim to a spladle to get pinned by Jack Anderson of Duke, but Tech regrouped to earn falls at the next two weights. Junior Matt Rosen stuck Nick Adamo of Duke in 2:11, while Diaz, wrestling up at 149 pounds, pinned the Blue Devils’ Mike Bell in 41 seconds.

Wrestling up at 157 pounds for the injured Dong, Yates notched a major decision over Duke’s AJ Guardado, 12-3. Duke won decisions against sophomore Adam Broda and junior Will Snyder at 165 and 184 pounds, respectively, with a Hokie victory at 174 squeezed in between, as Trongone outlasted Voris Tejada of the Blue Devils, 2-1.

Bruce picked up his second fall of the night at 197 pounds over Wade Van Sickle of Duke. After the two grappled, Bruce overpowered Sickle to the ground and held him on his back to give the Hokies an insurmountable 28-12 lead. The Blue Devils’ Robert Holbrook defeated junior Tim Miller at 285 pounds, 4-1 OT, but Tech still prevailed 28-15 to win the contest, and the ACC dual-meet crown.

“We had real strong outings today, and I hope [we are peaking at the right time],” Dresser said. “We are a little banged up, but this time of year you are going to be banged up. We just have to get a little bit of rest here and go to Norfolk and then get ready for the ACC Championshps.”

The Hokies next have one more dual meet, on Feb. 19 against Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., before returning to Cassell Coliseum for the ACC Wrestling Championships on March 7 in Blacksburg.

#14 Virginia Tech: 50, NC State: 0
125: #14 Jarrod Garnett (VT) fall Mike Moreno, 2:11
133: Brock LiVorio (VT) wins by forfeit
141: #19 Chris Diaz (VT) dec. #18 Joe Caramanica, 11-8
149: #20 Pete Yates (VT) wins by forfeit
157: Jesse Dong (VT) dec. #19 Kody Hamrah, 5-1
165: Matt Epperly (VT) fall Quinton Godley, 2:37
174: Anthony Trongone (VT) dec. Jake Burge, 4-2
184: Tommy Spellman (VT) fall Mark Jahad, 1:43
197: D.J. Bruce (VT) fall Joe Trotto, 2:53
285: David Marone tech. fall Austin Haigler, 16-0 (3:46)

#14 Virginia Tech: 28, Duke: 15
125: #14 Jarrod Garnett (VT) dec. Peter Terrezza, 10-4
133: Jack Anderson (Duke) fall Brock LiVorio, 0:07
141: Matt Rosen (VT) fall Nick Adamo, 2:11
149: Chris Diaz (VT) fall Mike Bell, 0:41
157: Pete Yates (VT) maj. dec. AJ Guardado, 12-3
165: Addison Nuding (Duke) dec. Adam Broda, 5-1
174: Anthony Trongone (VT) dec. Voris Tejada, 2-1
184: Turner Rooney (Duke) dec. Will Snyder, 7-3
197: D.J. Bruce (VT) fall Wade Van Sickle, 2:25
285: Robert Holbrook (Duke) dec. Tim Miller, 4-1 OT

For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).