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BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia will meet once again in wrestling, this time in conference play, as the two square off Saturday at 1 p.m., inside Memorial Gym on the campus of UVa. The two met just two weekends ago at the Virginia Duals in Hampton with the Hokies pulling out a 21-18 win despite forfeiting two weight classes. Once again, both teams are ranked (Tech 14th; Virginia 16th), but this time it will count in the conference standings and for seeding purposes at the ACC Championships.

The team bout will come down to key matchups, mainly at 125, 149, 157, 165 and 184 pounds. Jarrod Garnett struggled with UVa’s Ross Gitomer at the Duals, winning 2-1 and needs to come out on top again for the Hokies to have a chance. Brian Stephens lost a close bout to Kellon Balum of UVa, 9-8, at the Duals in a match that could have went either way. Tech’s Jesse Dong is ranked fourth in the country at 157 pounds while UVa’s Danny Gonsor is ranked 15th. Dong beat Gonsor, 7-1, in their match at the Duals. At 165 pounds, Tech’s Matt Epperly pinned Virginia’s Matt Chaires late in the third period at the Duals and those extra bonus points were key in Tech’s win. And finally, at 184 pounds, Tech’s Tommy Spellman is the one ranked this time (20th) as Mike Salopek was ranked 19th when the two met at the Duals. Spellman pulled out a 2-1 win two weeks ago to put him into the rankings, but lost to Salopek 2-0 at the Southern Scuffle.

Below is the box score from the Jan. 9 match:

Virginia Tech 21, Virginia 18
125: #13 Jarrod Garnett (VT) dec. Ross Gitomer, 2-1
133: Brock LiVorio (VT) dec. Matt Snyder, 7-1
141: #12 Chris Diaz (VT) dec. Derek Valenti, 7-2
149: Kellon Balum (VA) dec. Brian Stephens, 9-8
157: #7 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. #18 Danny Gonsor, 7-1
165: Matt Epperly (VT) pinned Michael Chaires, 6:20
174: #4 Chris Henrich (VA) wins by forfeit
184: Tommy Spellman (VT) dec. #19 Mike Salopek, 2-1
197: #16 Brent Jones (VA) dec. Chris Penny, 8-2
285: Jack Danilkowicz (VA) wins by forfeit

Virginia, 12-3, will host the University of North Carolina Friday night in the Cavs’ ACC opener. The Hokies (13-3, 1-0 ACC) will be wrestling in Charlottesville for the first time since 2006 and are the highest-ranked opponent to compete in Mem Gym since No. 2 Iowa State on Feb. 18, 2007.

There figures to be plenty of intriguing individual matchups Saturday, as UVa has three wrestlers ranked in the latest InterMat national rankings, while Tech has four. UVa has lost three straight to the Hokies since winning at Tech in 2007.

Below are the probable lineups for both squads, as submitted by the respective coaching staffs:

#16 Virginia (12-3, 0-0 ACC)
125: Ross Gitomer (15-10)
133: Matt Snyder (17-10) OR Matt Cubillos (3-12)
141: Derek Valenti (17-5)
149: Kellon Balum (17-7)
157: #15 Danny Gonsor (14-5)
165: Pat Riley (15-6)
174: #4 Chris Henrich (21-2)
184: Mike Salopek (21-7)
197: #20 Brent Jones (16-8)
285: Jack Danilkowicz (13-7)

#14 Virginia Tech (13-3, 1-0 ACC)
125: #15 Jarrod Garnett (18-4)
133: Brock LiVorio (7-1) OR Erik Spjut (7-6)
141: #10 Chris Diaz (22-3)
149: Brian Stephens (5-3)
157: #4 Jesse Dong (21-2) OR Taylor Knapp (10-10)
165: Matt Epperly (14-6)
174: John Dickson (4-5)
184: #20 Tommy Spellman (19-8)
197: Chris Penny (1-10)
285: Tim Miller (3-13)

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