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BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech wrestling team will open the 2010-11 season in style, hosting a pair of big events at the Salem Civic Center. On Saturday, Nov. 6, the 13th-ranked Hokies will headline a trio of matches as they will take on perennial national power Iowa State. Two other matches will also take place that day.

On Sunday, Nov. 7, Tech will host the third Hokie Open where nearly 300 collegiate wrestlers from a dozen schools are expected to compete for the 10 individual titles.

For local wrestling fans, the opening weekend doesn’t get much better. At 2 o’clock on Saturday, Tech and No. 25 Iowa State will battle while Chattanooga and Kent State will also square off. At 4 o’clock, Kent State and Iowa State will conclude the day’s events.

Iowa State, which finished third at last year’s NCAA Championships, is led by two-time All-American John Reader at 174 pounds. Tech returns seven starters who have qualified for the NCAA Championships, including All-American Chris Diaz at 141 pounds and top-12 finishers Jarrod Garnett (125) and David Marone (heavyweight). Seven of its 10 starters are ranked in the preseason InterMat rankings.

Tickets for the Saturday matches are $10 for adults and $5 for kids, ages 12 and under. To purchase tickets, call Ticketmaster at (866) 448-7849 or log onto ticketmaster.com. Tickets will also be available at the Salem Civic Center Box Office the day of the match.

Live stats for the Tech/Iowa State match can be found here.

On Sunday, the Hokie Mat Club will once again host the Hokie Open. The all-day event will begin at 9 a.m. and will feature some of the top wrestlers in the country.

Admission for the Hokie Open is $15 for adults, $5 for kids, ages 12 and under. Tickets will also be available at the Salem Civic Center Box Office the day of the tournament.

Fans can keep up with the action at hokieopen.com with bracket updates throughout the day.

For both days of action, Takedown Radio Live will have audio broadcasts and livesportsradio.com will have a video feed. FloWrestling will also be in attendance and will have highlights on its website.

Below are the probable lineups for Tech and Iowa State on Saturday.

#13 Virginia Tech (0-0)
125: #10 Jarrod Garnett (0-0)
133: Devin Carter (0-0)
141: #8 Chris Diaz (0-0)
149: #16 Brian Stephens (0-0)
157: #15 Pete Yates (0-0)
165: #15 Matt Epperly (0-0)
174: Nick Vetterlein (0-0)
184: #11 Tommy Spellman (0-0)
197: Chris Penny (0-0)
285: #12 David Marone (0-0)

#25 Iowa State (0-0)
125: Brandon Jones (0-0) OR Patrick Hunter (0-0)
133: Ben Cash (0-0)
141: #14 Chris Drouin (0-0)
149: Nate Carr Jr. (0-0) OR Max Mayfield (0-0)
157: Trent Weatherman (0-0)
165: #20 Andrew Sorenson (0-0) OR Chris Spangler (0-0)
174: #5 Jon Reader (0-0)
184: Tyler Christensen (0-0) OR Matt Riley (0-0)
197: #10 Jerome Ward (0-0)
285: Matt Gibson (0-0) OR Kyle Simonson (0-0)

The following Tech wrestlers are scheduled to compete at Sunday’s Hokie Open. Those wrestling unattached can not wear Virginia Tech gear, be coached by Tech coaches and must pay their own way and entry fee. It also preserves potential redshirts for the season. Their matches do not count toward their official record, but do count toward NCAA Tournament qualification, provided they wrestle against a Division-I opponent.

Hokie Open
125: Jarrod Garnett
125: Ty Mitch (unattached)
125: T.J. Mitchell
133: Devin Carter
133: Eric Spjut (unattached)
141: Chris Diaz
141: Nick Murray
141: Zach Neibert
149: Cameron Hurd
149: Chris Mears
149: Brian Stephens
157: Jesse Dong (unattached)
157: Pete Yates
165: Matt Epperly
165: Harrison Hightwoer (unattached)
165: Chris Moon
174: Sam Law
174: Angelo Malvestuto (unattached)
174: Nick Vetterlein
184: John Dickson
184: Tommy Spellman
197: Bobby Lavelle
197: Chris Penny
285: David Marone

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