North Carolina
Virginia Tech
Carolina Edged By No. 13 Hokies, 19-15
February 1, 2009 | Wrestling
Feb. 1, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina and No. 13 Virginia Tech each recorded five individual victories, but the Hokies used a pin from Jarrod Garnett at 125 pounds and a major decision by Anthony Trongone at 174 to secure a 19-15 victory over the Tar Heels Sunday at Fetzer Gymnasium. Tech (17-1, 2-0 ACC) also claimed wins in afternoon's two meetings of ranked wrestlers to earn its second ACC win of the weekend.
Mike Rappo (133), Thomas Scotton (157), Keegan Mueller (165), Dennis Drury (197) and Justin Dobies (heavyweight) each posted decisions for the Tar Heels (10-7, 3-1 ACC), who saw a six-match winning streak snapped.
Virginia Tech jumped out to a quick lead thanks to the pin from the 13th-ranked Garnett at 125. UNC rookie Nick Shields was strong early, taking a first-period lead on a takedown, but Garnett recorded his second pin on the weekend at the 6:44 mark to give Virginia Tech six points.
Rappo put the Tar Heels on the board with an 8-5 decision over Brock LiVorio at 133. The Holland, Pa., native recorded three takedowns en route to his fourth straight victory and a 22-7 season mark.
Following Rappo's win, the Hokies picked up key victories in the afternoon's two marquee matchups at 141 and 149. No. 20 Chris Diaz blanked No. 18 Vincent Ramirez by a 7-0 margin at 141, and No. 20 Pete Yates followed with a 4-3 decision against No. 15 Nick Stabile at 149 on the strength of a pair of takedowns.
With Carolina down 12-3 after four bouts, Scotton picked up a huge victory for Carolina over Jesse Dong at 157. After being held without a point through two periods, Scotton scored a takedown with roughly 30 seconds left in the third. Dong then escaped to send the match to overtime, but Scotton, 18-9 this season, came through with a takedown in first sudden victory period to secure a 4-2 win.
Ranked 16th nationally at 165, Mueller recorded a second straight win for Carolina with a 5-2 decision over Matt Epperly, who upset Mueller in the finals of last year's ACC Championships. Mueller, who also downed Epperly at the Southern Scuffle earlier this season, recorded a first-period takedown and a second-period reversal to move to 28-5 with his ninth straight victory.
Mueller's win cut the Tech lead to just 12-9, but the Hokies bounced back with the major from Trongone at 174 - 9-1 over Robert McCarthy - and a decision from Tommy Spellman at 184 - 4-0 over Daniel Llamas - to carry a 10-point lead into the final two bouts of the day.
Carolina needed bonus points in each of its final two bouts to pull of the comeback victory but managed decisions at 197 and heavyweight for the 19-15 final margin.
Drury, ranked 17th at 197, staged a third-period rally to post a 4-2 victory over D.J. Bruce. Trailing 2-1, Drury escaped early in the third and scored a takedown with 29 seconds remaining to pick up the Tar Heels' fourth win of the afternoon. Drury's fourth straight win gives him a 23-6 season record.
Dobies scored a first-period takedown and scored the decisive point on a third-period escape for Carolina's final win of the day, a 3-2 decision over David Marone at heavyweight. The Garfield Height, Ohio, product won his 10th straight bout to improve to 23-6 in his senior campaign.
Carolina is back in action next weekend for a pair of matches at Eddie Smith Field House. The Tar Heels host NC State at 7 p.m. Friday at Ohio at 1 p.m. Saturday.
#13 Virginia Tech 19, North Carolina 15
Weight - Result (Team Score)
125 - #13 Jarrod Garnett (VT) pins Nick Shields (UNC), 6:44 (VT 6-0)
133 - Mike Rappo (UNC) dec. Brock LiVorio (VT), 8-5 (VT 6-3)
141 - #20 Chris Diaz (VT) dec. #18 Vincent Ramirez (UNC), 7-0 (VT 9-3)
149 - #20 Pete Yates (VT) dec. #15 Nick Stabile (UNC), 4-3 (VT 12-3)
157 - Thomas Scotton (UNC) dec. Jesse Dong (VT), 4-2 OT (VT 12-6)
165 - #16 Keegan Mueller (UNC) dec. Matt Epperly (VT), 5-2 (VT 12-9)
174 - Anthony Trongone (VT) major dec. Robert McCarthy (UNC), 9-1 (VT 16-9)
184 - Tommy Spellman (VT) dec. Daniel Llamas (UNC), 4-0 (VT 19-9)
197 - #17 Dennis Drury (UNC) dec. D.J. Bruce (VT), 4-2 (VT 19-12)
HWT - Justin Dobies (UNC) dec. David Marone (VT), 3-2 (VT 19-15)
Players Mentioned
