A college wrestling season is a lot like an academic semester — crushing the course at the end is the key — and Tony Robie is hoping Virginia Tech can earn an ‘A’ at the ACCs.

The #8 Hokies (7-2/3-1) will wind down their season at home against Pitt (9-5/2-2) on Friday and #11 North Carolina State (10-1/4-0) on Feb. 21 prior to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on March 9 at Duke.

They’ve more than adequately recovered from a 20-17 setback on Jan. 10 in Chapel Hill against #23 North Carolina by winning four straight against Appalachian State, Duke, Virginia and #12 Stanford.

“I think maybe that was a little bit of a wake-up call for a few guys, and really for the team after UNC,” Robie said. “Obviously, we weren’t at full strength, but we still feel like if we wrestled up to or close to our best, I felt like the outcome could have been different.

“Credit to them. They wrestled well, and they continue to wrestle well. But we needed to go out and be more aggressive and attack more and impose our will a little bit against a lot of these opponents. I think we’ve done that better since the loss. It’s been a point of emphasis from our coaching staff and from the leaders of our team.”

That’s what has Robie looking positively toward the postseason. 

“How we finish is really going to dictate how we view the season and how our fans and the people around our program view the season,” he said. “But I think, for us, it's a long season, especially when you're not healthy, it's hard to give your best performance every time you're out there,” Robie said.

“There's been some moments where we haven't wrestled our best this year. It's about learning from those competitions and understanding what you need to do different, what you need to do better, what you did well, and building off those things to make sure when it matters the most, you've got all those things ironed out. I think that we've typically done a pretty good job of that, and I'm hopeful that we will again this year.”

The Hokies’ #11 Rafael Hipolito is expected to return to the lineup at 157 against Pitt, and Robie said that will create a full, healthy lineup for the first time this season. 

“Hopefully we can continue to stay healthy and avoid sickness too,” he said. “There's been a lot of sickness going around the university and the athletic department and the team as well. We've got a few days to go before we get there, but it looks promising right now.”

Robie and VT are looking at the final two ACC duals against the Panthers and Wolfpack as a springboard to the postseason. 

“Every competition is independent of each other. But it's really about creating momentum, and I think momentum is really, really powerful,” he said.

“You want to have that on your side as we go down the home stretch. Being at home is helpful. We always have a really good environment, a good crowd, just a lot of energy in the building. And getting all 10 guys in there, I think there's a lot more excitement around that as well.”

All About The ACCs

Like any big event, the NCAA qualifier will be about winning the close matches, those tight, back-and-forth bouts.

“You’re gonna have to be really, really consistent all day long; every point matters at that event,” Robie said. “I think there's more parity this year than there's ever been in that tournament. And those semifinals and finals matches are really, really important. 

“We’ve got to plug as many guys as we possibly can in the finals and get as many chances as possible at bonus points, just like any other tournament. You need your top-tier guys to go out and perform well and earn bonus points, but you need some guys that maybe aren't favored or lower seeds to step up and get some upsets and score some points and take some points away from some of the other teams in some areas where they may be seeded higher.”

It’s a seven-team event this season with the addition of Pacific-based Stanford to the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

“It's a fun tournament, an interesting tournament with only seven teams,” Robie said. “I like the fact that there's seven teams as opposed to six. Hopefully, it adds a little more parity to it and makes it a little bit more interesting.”

Hokies Headed West

With Stanford on VT’s away side of the schedule — a match the Hokies won 30-13 — they had to focus on travel plans.

“We went out on Wednesday and got back on Saturday, and it’s definitely a long trip for one match,” Robie said. “But I think if you prepare the right way for it and try to slowly acclimate to the time change and the days leading up to our departure by trying to push practice back and push time back a little bit, I think that part of it helps.

“There was definitely a lot of thought put into what our schedule looked like that week and getting out there, and then what we do once we're out there as well.”

Big Return For McGonagle

VT’s Connor McGonagle, the transfer from Lehigh, missed a couple of matches but returned at Stanford to knock off #6 Tyler Knox with a takedown in the sudden victory period for a 3-0 win.

“Every time out, he's looked a little bit better, a little bit better.” Robie said. “He’s getting his legs underneath him. He competed well out at Stanford against a worthy opponent. Connor's the kind of guy, if he can go out and get two takedowns, he's really, really hard to beat.”

The Champ Is Back

Defending NCAA 149-pound champion Caleb Henson also was absent for a handful of bouts, and his return can pick up an entire team, Robie said.

“It's also good to Caleb Henson back in the lineup, not only from a standpoint of he's gonna win and score a lot of points, but just the way he handles his business and his leadership,” he noted. “And I think the kind of effort that he gives is contagious to the rest of the team and that's been helpful as well.

“It's about staying healthy. But from a mindset standpoint, I think he's in a good spot right now.”