North Carolina
Gardner-Webb
Tar Heels Take Two At ACC Challenge
November 15, 2009 | Wrestling
Nov. 15, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina allowed just nine combined points in wins over Gardner-Webb and No. 16 American and fell just short of a late rally in a loss to Bucknell at the fourth-annual ACC Challenge Sunday at Eddie Smith Field House. The Tar Heels (2-1) blanked the Bulldogs, 43-0, before posting their first win over a top-25 opponent since 2005 with their 26-9 victory over the Eagles.
The Bison downed Carolina, 19-14, to close Sunday's nine-match slate. The ACC was dominant on the afternoon, winning eight of the nine duals. Virginia and Virginia Tech both went unbeaten.
No. 16 Dennis Drury and No. 18 Thomas Scotton led Carolina with three individual victories at 157 and 197 pounds, respectively. Drury, who is now 6-1 on the young season, had a big afternoon with a technical fall against Gardner-Webb, a pin versus American and a major decision against Bucknell. Unbeaten on the year at 8-0, Scotton opened his day with a major decision in the victory over the Bulldogs and added decision against American and Bucknell
Danny Lopes was also unbeaten on the day with victories in both of his bouts at 141 pounds, and Thomas Ferguson went 2-0 with a win at 165 and 174.
"I'm extremely pleased with the way my guys wrestled," said UNC head coach C.D. Mock. "Today what I was looking for was attitude, because we're a little beat up.
"I'm just very happy with the way the day went. I think we're on the right track. We've got a lot of work to do, but we're on the right track. If we can keep everybody healthy, we can have a very, very good year this year."
After easily taking its first two duals of the day, Carolina found itself trailing by 10 points with three matches to go against Bucknell. Nick Tenpenny started the rally at 184 with an 11-3 major decision over No. 19 David Thompson, and Drury followed with a 9-0 major against Rob Waltko at 197 to trim the lead to just two points. Carolina heavyweight Andrew Cekuta fought hard, but Bucknell's Conor Sweeney scored a 12-6 victory to close out the match.
Lopes and Scotton also had victories against the Bison for UNC.
Carolina and American traded the first four bouts with Jeremy Shaw (133) and Mike Rappo (141) picking up victories to even the score at six apiece. At 157, Scotton scored a late takedown to seal a 5-4 win over Steve Fittery to jump-start the Tar Heels to five consecutive victories and lock up the match.
Kyle Kiss and Ferguson picked up 5-1 and 5-3 decisions at 165 and 174, respectively, before American forfeited at 184 to give the Tar Heels 21-6 lead with just two bouts to go. Drury extended the Carolina lead to 20 points with a 16-1 technical fall against Kenneth Clessas.
The Tar Heels' last win over a ranked opponent came against No. 22 Chattanooga Nov. 13, 2005, at the Mat Jam Duals.
Carolina pulled away early against Gardner-Webb and never looked back en route to its 43-point victory. Freshmen Brian Bokoski and Rocco Wellek gave the Tar Heels a 12-0 lead with back-to-back pins at 125 and 133 to open the match. Bokoski pinned Brett Kostern in 6:28, and Wellek needed just 1:51 to put Marc Rocha on his back.
Following decisions from Lopes at 141 and Daniel Helena at 149, Scotton posted an 11-2 major decision over Alex Medved at 157, and Ferguson followed with a 15-0 technical fall against David Pelsang to boost the lead to 27-0.
Ben Fiacco added a major decision at 174, and Kevin Owen followed with a decision at 184 before Drury picked up the Tar Heels' third pin of the match in just 1:52 at 197 against Jonathan Velazquez. Andrew Cekuta closed the match with a decision at heavyweight for the 43-0 final margin.
The Tar Heels are back in action Saturday, Nov. 28 at the Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y.
Players Mentioned
