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NC State Wrestling Releases 2015-16 Schedule
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State head coach Pat Popolizio has announced the Wolfpack’s 2015-16 slate. For the second straight year, the Pack will face one of the toughest schedules in the nation, as the 2015-16 season will feature six duals against schools that finished in the top-10 at last year’s NCAA Championships and 11 duals overall against teams that placed in the top-25.
“This year’s schedule allows us compete against many of the top teams in the nation,” said Popolizio, entering his fourth season at NC State. “The schedule provides us with an opportunity to see a great variety of teams across the country. Wrestling a challenging schedule like this will prepare us both as individuals and as a team for the ACC and NCAA Championships.”
With an impressive $35 million renovation of Reynolds Coliseum underway, the Wolfpack will be in action in various facilities throughout Raleigh for the 2015-16 season before returning to refurbished Reynolds in 2016-17.
With preseason practice starting in mid-October, fans first chance to see the Pack will be on Nov. 5 when, for the first time in school history, the Pack’s annual preseason Wrestle-Offs will be held outside in NC State’s Brickyard. Home action soon follows, as the Wolfpack Duals (at Cary Academy High School) and the Wolfpack Open (at Carmichael Gymnasium) will be held the weekend of Nov. 21-22.
All of the Pack’s remaining five home duals will take place at the Gov. James E. Holshouser Building (http://www.ncstatefair.org/
All five of the Pack’s home duals at the Holshouser Building feature teams that finished in the top-25 at last year’s NCAA Championships – the final two in the top-10.
Among the top-10 2015 NCAA finishers the Pack will face away from Raleigh this year: vs. No. 8 Minnesota at the Northeast Duals (Nov. 15), at No. 7 Oklahoma State (Dec. 6), vs. No. 3 Edinboro at the Pitt Duals (Jan. 10), and at No. 9 Nebraska (Feb. 6).
To close out regular season, NC State’s final seven dual opponents all finished in the top-25 at the 2015 NCAA Championships, including the final three that were in the top-10.
The 2016 ACC Championship will be held March 5 or 6 at Virginia, and the 2015 NCAA Championships take place March 17-19 in New York at Madison Square Garden.
The 2015 season marked one of the top seasons in NC State history, as the Pack’s 16th place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships was the highest team finish since 1993. NC State had a pair of All-Americans for the first season since 1993, as redshirt junior Nick Gwiazdowski repeated as NCAA Champion at 285 pounds and became the first wrestler in school history to win multiple NCAA titles, and only the third ACC wrestler all-time to do so, and the first since 1995. Freshman Kevin Jack went from unseeded to a fifth place finish at 141 pounds. Gwiazdowski repeated as ACC Wrestler of the Year, while Jack was named the ACC Freshman of the Year.
NC State finished 2015 with a dual record of 16-6, with all but one of the losses coming to top-10 teams at the time of the dual. The 16 wins are the third-most in a single season at NC State, as only the 1985 (18) and 1988 (19) squads recorded more. NC State finished 3-2 in ACC dual action in 2015, placing second – its highest regular season finish since 2007 and an improvement from fifth place in 2014. The Pack finished the regular season ranked 17th nationally in the final USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. NC State was also ranked #14 by InterMat.com and #18 by FloWreslting.com in their final regular season polls.
For the Pack’s complete 2015-16 schedule, click here: http://gopack.com/schedule.