STANFORD, Calif. - No. 17 Stanford (10-4, 2-3 ACC) closes out its dual season on Friday, hosting No. 16 North Carolina (8-5, 4-1 ACC) at 7 p.m. in Maples Pavilion. The dual will be streamed on ACCNX.
Friday marks the final home dual for fifth years Peter Ming, Jason Miranda and Nick Stemmet, and sixth year Jaden Abas.
Friday is also the return of former Cardinal head coach Rob Koll, who is in his second season at the helm of the Carolina program, his alma mater. Additionally, Cardinal alum Charlie Darracott, now a member of the UNC roster, will be in the lineup for the Tar Heels at 165 pounds.
Stanford is ranked No. 17 in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll. The Cardinal boasts eight wrestlers ranked in the InterMat individual polls.
InterMat Individual Rankings
133: Tyler Knox - #6
141: Jason Miranda - #21
149: Jaden Abas - #15
157: Grigor Cholakyan - #28
165: Hunter Garvin - #13
174: Lorenzo Norman - #4
197: Nick Stemmet - #15
285: Peter Ming - #29
Last time out, Stanford went 2-1 on the road, defeating Princeton (20-17) and Duke (37-12), while incurring a loss at No. 7 NC State (27-13). Redshirt freshman Tyler Knox was 3-0 on the week, outscoring his opponents 33-1. He was selected as the ACC Wrestler of the Week for his efforts, joining Lorenzo Norman (Jan. 1) and EJ Parco (Jan. 21) as Cardinal recipients this season.
Stanford won the 60th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships - the first team title in program history at the tournament. The Cardinal crowned three individual champions in the same season for the first time - Tyler Knox (133 pounds), Jaden Abas (149 pounds) and Lorenzo Norman (174 pounds). Also placing for Stanford were Hunter Garvin (3rd - 165 pounds), Jason Miranda (4th - 141 pounds), Nick Stemmet (4th - 197 pounds), Peter Ming (5th - 285 pounds), Grigor Cholakyan (7th - 157 pounds), Brook Byers (7th - 197 pounds) and Collin Guffey (8th - 174 pounds).
Following the tournament, Knox was voted the Dan Gable Men's Outstanding Wrestler, while Norman was named the Jack Leese Champion of Champions.
The Cardinal finished eighth as a team at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 6-7) and had four placewinners - Lorenzo Norman (2nd - 174 pounds), Jaden Abas (3rd - 149 pounds), Tyler Knox (5th - 133 pounds) and Hunter Garvin (6th - 165 pounds).
Last season, Stanford ushered in the Chris Ayres' era, producing a pair of All-Americans and tying for its third-highest finish at the NCAA Championships (16th).
The Cardinal qualified five wrestlers for the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City - Nico Provo (125), Jaden Abas (149), Daniel Cardenas (157), Hunter Garvin (165) and Nick Stemmet (197). Cardenas was the top-finisher for Stanford, placing fourth at 157 pounds to garner his first career All-America honors.
Garvin took sixth at 165 pounds after entering the tournament at the No. 20 seed. He became just the third Cardinal freshman to achieve NCAA All-America status. Stanford now has 26 individual All-Americans who have earned 37 honors overall.
Stanford is under the guidance of Chris Ayres, The Matt Gentry Head Wrestling Coach. He is in his second season on The Farm and 19th season as a collegiate head coach. A four-time Ivy League Coach of the Year, Ayres spent 17 seasons at the helm of the Princeton program.
No. 17 Stanford vs. No. 16 North Carolina Probable Matchups
125: -- (STAN) vs. #11 Spencer Moore (UNC)
133: #6 Tyler Knox (STAN) vs. #11 Ethan Oakley (UNC)
141: #21 Jason Miranda (STAN) vs. #22 Jayden Scott (UNC)
149: #15 Jaden Abas (STAN) vs. #5 Lachlan McNeil (UNC)
157: Zach Hanson (STAN) vs. #23 Sonny Santiago OR Laird Root (UNC)
165: #13 Hunter Garvin (STAN) vs. Charlie Darracott (UNC)
174: #4 Lorenzo Norman (STAN) vs. #18 Joshua Ogunsanya OR Nolan O'Boyle (UNC)
184: Cole Han-Lindemyer (STAN) vs. #19 Gavin Kane (UNC)
197: #15 Nick Stemmet (STAN) vs. Cade Lautt OR Robert Platt (UNC)
285: #29 Peter Ming (STAN) vs. Nolan Neves (UNC)