North Carolina
NC State
Tar Heels Topple Wolfpack, 33-12
February 6, 2009 | Wrestling
Feb. 6, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Freshman Nick Shields and junior Dennis Drury each recorded pins to lead North Carolina to a 33-12 win over NC State in its Atlantic Coast Conference finale Friday at Eddie Smith Field House. The Tar Heels (11-7, 4-1 ACC) also picked up a technical from Nick Stabile and a major decision from Thomas Ferguson en route to their seventh win in the last eight duals.
Carolina jumped out to an 18-6 lead after six bouts, but a pin by the Wolfpack (4-10-1, 0-3 ACC) at 174 cut the lead to just six points with three bouts remaining. The Tar Heels closed with a decision by Daniel Llamas at 184, Drury's pin at 197 and a forfeit at heavyweight for the 19-point victory.
In the first match of the night, Shields continued his strong wrestling of late with his first career pin against Greyson Mills at 125. The Louisiana native rallied from an early 4-1 deficit to grab a 6-4 lead before putting Mills on his back at the 2:47 mark for six points for the Tar Heels. Shields improved to 7-15 this season and 3-2 in ACC action.
Carolina wrestled back-ups at both 133 and 141 and came away with a split to take a 9-3 lead through three bouts. NC State's Darrius Little posted a 5-0 win over Mike Robinson and 133, but UNC junior Jeremy Shaw answered with a 7-5 decision against Ryan Tice at 141. Shaw, who improved to 10-5 with the victory, scored a takedown and a pair of two-point near falls in the win.
Stabile, ranked 15th at 149, extended the Carolina lead to 14-3 with a 17-1 technical fall against Sean Smith. He racked up four takedowns, two three-point near falls and over five minutes of riding time before ending the match with a near fall at the 6:30 mark. Thanks to his second tech fall of the season, Stabile is now 22-8 with a 3-1 mark against the ACC.
State bounced back at 157 with a 3-2 decision by Kody Hamrah over 19th-ranked Thomas Scotton. The match was tied at two at the end of regulation, but Hamrah took the bout due to riding time to cut the margin to 14-6.
Carolina shuffled its lineup for the next two bouts, shifting Ferguson into the 165-pound slot and senior Keegan Mueller to 174. Ferguson, who responded with a 12-0 major over Quinton Godley, is 13-7 on the year and picked up his first career ACC win.
Mueller, who is ranked 17th at 165, was pinned in the third period by State's Jake Burge, who is 16-7 at 174.
After State crawled within six points thanks to the pin, Llamas answered with a dramatic win over Mark Jahad at 184. The Durham native went in front with a takedown with just 30 seconds remaining and closed the win with a second takedown in the final seconds. Llamas is now 14-13.
The 17th-ranked Drury, who leads the team with five pins, needed just 1:46 to drop Joe Trotto at 197 to run his season mark to 24-6 and 4-1 in the ACC. Dobies followed with a victory via forfeit to run his record to 24-6 and 5-0 in league action.
The Tar Heels return to action at Eddie Smith against Ohio at 1 p.m.
North Carolina 33, NC State 12
Weight - Result (Team Score)
125 - Nick Shields (UNC) pins Greyson Mills (NCSU), 2:47 (UNC 6-0)
133 - Darrius Little (NCSU) dec. Mike Robinson (UNC), 5-0 (UNC 6-3)
141 - Jeremy Shaw (UNC) dec. Ryan Tice (NCSU), 7-5 (UNC 9-3)
149 - #15 Nick Stabile (UNC) tech. fall Sean Smith (NCSU), 17-1, 6:30 (UNC 14-3)
157 - Kody Hamrah (NCSU) dec. #19 Thomas Scotton (UNC), 3-2 (UNC 14-6)
165 - Thomas Ferguson (UNC) major dec. Quinton Godley (NCSU), 12-0 (UNC 18-6)
174 - Jake Burge (NCSU) pins #17 Keegan Mueller (UNC), 5:52 (UNC 18-12)
184 - Daniel Llamas (UNC) dec. Mark Jahad (NCSU), 6-3 (UNC 21-12)
197 - #17 Dennis Drury (UNC) pins Joe Trotto (NCSU), 1:46 (UNC 27-12)
HWT - Justin Dobies (UNC) wins via forfeit (UNC 33-12)
Players Mentioned
