No. 10 Hokies return to Blacksburg to face West Virginia on Friday

Haught will once again face Jake Smith in a top five bout at 197 pounds

December 21, 2017

BLACKSBURG - After a week off, No. 10 Virginia Tech returns to Carilion Clinic Court on Friday where the Hokies will take on West Virginia at 7 p.m. Admission is free and the match will be streamed live on ACC Network EXTRA via WatchESPN.

The Hokies (4-1) are coming off of a 26-12 win over Princeton in the Grapple at the Garden in New York City on Dec. 10. Tech is 8-12 all-time vs. West Virginia but won the last meeting, a 36-4 victory at Parkersburg High School in Parkersburg, West Virginia on Dec. 18, 2016.

That dual was a homecoming for redshirt senior Jared Haught, who’ll be going up against his home-state Mountaineers one last time. Once again he’ll face Jake Smith, WVU’s 197-pounder who’s currently ranked fifth in the nation. On Friday, it’ll be No. 5 Smith vs. No. 3 Haught in the lone ranked bout of the evening.

The first 150 fans in attendance will receive a free Virginia Tech wrestling beanie. Beanies will be distributed starting at 5:30 p.m.

INSIDE THE MATCH

• In what’s been the premier bout in the last two duals between the two programs, No. 3 Jared Haught vs. No. 5 Jake Smith on Friday is expected to be another classic.
• Haught is 2-1 all-time against Smith and has won the last two meetings in sudden victory overtime and the first tiebreak period, respectively.
• Dennis Gustafson could see a strong test at 133 against Matthew Schmitt, who’s 13-5 on the season.
• Gustafson defeated Schmitt in his first consolation match by a 6-2 decision earlier this month at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (12/1).

VIRGINIA TECH PROJECTED LINEUP
125: Kyle Norstrem (8-7)
133: #14 Dennis Gustafson (13-4)
141: Brent Moore (9-7) or Andrew Mehrholz
149: #11 Solomon Chishko (5-2) or Brendan Grammes (5-5)
157: Ryan Blees (6-4) or B.C. LaPrade (8-5)
165: #4 David McFadden (17-0)
174: Cody Hughes (10-6) or Hunter Bolen (7-6)
184: #7 Zack Zavatsky (15-4)
197: #3 Jared Haught (12-2)
285: #17 Andrew Dunn (15-4)

WEST VIRGINIA PROJECTED LINEUP
125: No. 19 Zeke Moisey or Devin Brown
133: Matthew Schmitt
141: Christian Monserrat or Keegan Moore
149: Kyler Rea
157: No. 18 Zachary Moore
165: Nick Kiussis
174: Parker VonEgidy
184: Brenden McRill
197: No. 5 Jake Smith
285: Brandon Ngati

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