College Wrestling: No. 13 Rutgers vs. No. 8 Virginia Tech preview

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights host the Virginia Tech Hokies to open up their homestand in the 2023-24 college wrestling season.

With that, we’ll break it all down as Rutgers looks to improve to 3-0 while Virginia Tech has a chance to improve its dual streak to two wins. The match can be seen on Big Ten+ at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Let’s get into it.

Video Breakdown

The Projected Matchups: Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech

Rankings via InterMat

125: No. 6 Dean Peterson vs. No. 15 Eddie Ventresca
133: No. 15 Dylan Shawver vs. No. 6 Sam Latona
141: No. 14 Mitch Moore vs. Hunter Mason
149: No. 23 Jacob Butler vs. No. 4 Caleb Henson
157: No. 23 Andrew Clark vs. No. 5 Bryce Andonian
165: No. 22 Anthony White vs. Clayton Ulrey
174: No. 26 Jackson Turley vs. No. 3 Mekhi Lewis
184: No. 9 Brian Soldano vs. No. 21 Sam Fisher
197: No. 8 John Poznanski vs. No. 16 Andy Smith
285: No. 6 Yaraslau Slavikouski vs. No. 18 Hunter Catka

Based on the projections, there are eight ranked matchups on paper which should make for a very tight dual. Arguably, the match of the night is right off the bat between Peterson and Ventresca and it could set the tone for the dual.

Prediction

It’s going to be very tight early on between the Scarlet Knights and the Hokies. Expect some bonus points to fly around and it’ll be key to limit them to win the dual. Plus, upsets could really shake things up.

Based on match projection, and the possibility there’s no No. 19 Connor Brady at 165 for the Hokies, it’s looking like a Virginia Tech lead at the break (after five matches), but Rutgers has the distinct advantage in the three upper weights with Soldano, Poznanski and Slavikouski. With that, we’ll give the nod to Rutgers for a signature win early in the year.

Rutgers wins 20-13