No. 12 Wrestling Opens ACC Action At Virginia

Friday, January 16

Charlottesville, Va.

7 PM

North Carolina

Virginia

Photo by: AINSLEY E. FAUTH

January 15, 2026 | Wrestling

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The 12th-ranked North Carolina wrestling team begins the Atlantic Coast Conference portion of the schedule Friday evening, traveling to Virginia.

Dual Information
Date/Time: Friday, Jan. 16 - 7 PM
Location: JPJ Arena - Charlottesville, Va.
Watch: ACCNX

ACC Duals
• On Friday, Carolina starts the ACC dual portion of the 2025-26 campaign, with a road matchup at Virginia.
• A season ago, the Tar Heels clinched a share of the ACC regular season title, the 19th in program history and the first since the 2018-19 season.
• This year, Carolina is looking to win back-to-back dual titles for the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
• Entering Friday night, the Tar Heels have won the ACC opener in seven of the last eight seasons, including last year's 20-17 victory over No. 8 Virginia Tech in Chapel Hill.

Against The Cavaliers
• Prior to Friday, Carolina has won eight-straight over the Cavaliers, holding a 52-32 advantage in the series history.
• The two programs met for the very first time in 1924, a 13-3 Carolina victory, in the program's second year of existence.
• Last season, the Tar Heels defeated Virginia, 26-10 in Chapel Hill.

Last Time Out
• To begin 2026, the Tar Heels sent 18 wrestlers to the two-day Soldier Salute, held in Iowa.
• Three Tar Heels finished atop the podium: Ethan Oakley (133), Luke Simcox (141) and Bryce Hepner (165).
• As a team, Carolina finished the two-day tournament in second place with 161.5 team points, trailing Missouri who capped off the event with 166.5 points.
• Kysen Terukina (125) and Jake Dailey (184) finished runner-up, meeting ranked wrestlers in their championship bouts.
• Rounding out the individual efforts, Matthew Botello (Third - 133), Nick O'Neill (Fifth - 141), Laird Root (Fourth - 157), Nicholas Fea (Fifth - 174) and Mikey Calcagno (Sixth - 197) placed for the Tar Heels.

New Faces, New Places
• Entering year three in the Roll Koll era, the program welcomed nine new faces to Chapel Hill this offseason.
• In addition to the seven freshmen, the Tar Heels welcomed two transfers, Bryce Hepner (Ohio State) and Kysen Terukina (Iowa State).
• Hepner and Terukina, consistent starters at their respective weights, are a combined 20-2 this season, with Terukina a perfect 6-0 in duals.

Tar Heels In The Polls
• Entering the weekend, seven Tar Heels are ranked in the weekly InterMat Wrestling rankings:
- 125: Kysen Terukina - No. 16
- 133: Ethan Oakley - No. 19
- 141: Luke Simcox - No. 20
- 157: Laird Root - No. 31
- 165: Bryce Hepner - No. 13
- 184: Jake Dailey - No. 14
- 285: Nolan Neves - No. 28
• As a team, Carolina is ranked No. 12 in the NWCA Coaches Poll.

Probable Lineups: No. 12 North Carolina at Virginia
125: No. 16 Kysen Terukina or Cameron Stinson Jr. vs. No. 23 Keyveon Roller or Rocco Hayes
133: No. 19 Ethan Oakley or Matthew Botello vs. Marlon Yarbrough or Kyle Montaperto
141: No. 20 Luke Simcox vs. Gable Porter
149: Nate Askew vs. Wynton Denkins
157: No. 31 Laird Root vs. No. 30 Colton Washleski
165: No. 13 Bryce Hepner or Joey Showalter vs. Michael Murphy
174: Collin Carrigan vs. No. 28 Nick Hamilton
184: No. 14 Jake Dailey vs. Griffin Gammell or Dylan Newsome
197: Robert Platt vs. Steven Burrell Jr.
285: No. 28 Nolan Neves vs. Brenan Morgan