Postseason Time for @PackWrestle
2/27/2017 8:20:00 AM | Wrestling
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RALEIGH, N.C. - With a second straight top-10 finish in the final NWCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll announced last week, the NC State wrestling team now goes from its dual season portion of the schedule to the tournament-style driven postseason starting with the ACC Championship this weekend.
The defending ACC Champions, with four individual titles last year at UVA, the Wolfpack will be one of six conference schools vying for the 2017 ACC Championship this Saturday inside the newly renovated Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack finished 2016-17 with a dual record of 13-2, its only losses to a pair of top-10 schools. Adding in last year's 23-1 dual record, NC State has won 35 of its 38 duals over the last two seasons.
Despite not having the services of the school record three All-Americans from last season (two graduated and one redshirted this season), NC State finished the dual portion of the wrestling season ranked No. 8 nationally, a year after its school record No. 2 final ranking following the 2015-16 season.
For the second straight season, NC State finished 4-1 in ACC duals in 2017. The Pack outscored its ACC foes 113-62 (22.6-12.4 avg.) this year, winning 31 of the 50 matches, with 13 bonus point wins.
Two NC State grapplers made it through the ACC dual season with a perfect conference mark at the weight they will be competing in this weekend. Junior Kevin Jack (141) went a perfect 5-0 in conference action for the second straight season, he is 12-0 in ACC duals in his career. Redshirt-junior Michael Macchiavello (184) was 4-0, as wrestled up at 197 pounds against North Carolina, and he is the only ACC wrestler to go undefeated at 184 this year.
The ACC was as competitive as it has ever been this season. Along with NC State at No. 8 nationally in the final poll, Virginia Tech (18-1) was No. 4 and Pittsburgh (11-5) was No. 23. Both Virginia and North Carolina were also ranked among the top-25 nationally during the regular season.
Also for the second year in a row, both NC State and Virginia Tech won their NWCA National Duals Championships Series against Big Ten schools. The Wolfpack and Hokies are two of the three schools nationally (Penn State) to win their National Duals matchup each of the last two years. The ACC is a perfect 4-0 in the event since the new format started last season.
Aside from trying to win a team championship and individual titles, one of the main aspects for eyeing success at your conference tournament is trying to earn an automatic NCAA bid. Last week, the NCAA announced the qualifier allocations for the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and the ACC was awarded with a total of 30 over the 10 weight classes.
Simply put, for each weight class, your finish at the ACC Championship will determine if you receive an automatic NCAA bid this weekend.Â
For example, the 125-pound weight class in the ACC was awarded three NCAA bids. Meaning, if redshirt-sophomore Sean Fausz finishes within the top three on Saturday, he will get one of those bids. The same holds try for all 10 weight classes.
After all conference tournaments are wrapped up, the at-large bids will be awarded, but there are only a limited amount.
Last season, NC State had a school record with eight NCAA Qualifiers - all automatic bids based on their finish at the ACC Championship. The Pack had four individual champions a year ago, and six advance to the finals overall. The brackets for the ACC Championship will be announced on Wednesday.
It appears that Saturday will be another exciting day of college wrestling in the ACC.
If you can not make it to Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday, ACC Network Extra/WatchESPN will broadcast all the action starting with the first round at 11 a.m. The finals are tentatively schedule to begin at 7 p.m. You can also follow NC State Wrestling on twitter at @PackWrestle.
