The Wolfpack (16-5, 3-2 ACC) had only the 285 and 125 pound matches left to pull off the road win.
No. 1-ranked Nick Gwiazdowski made quick work of his opponent and scored a pin for NC State just 1:41 into his match to close the gap to 20-19 with a winner-takes-all match at 125 to close the ACC dual.
NC State's #26 Joe DeAngelo was pitted against #29 Nick Hermann. The score was tied 6-6 going into the third period, but DeAngelo earned an escape to start the period and held on for a 7-6 decision to give the Pack the team win.
The Wolfpack has now defeated #17 Old Dominion (21-15), #14 Pittsburgh (27-12), and now #13 Virginia (22-20) all since Feb. 6.
"This was a big win over a great program tonight," said head coach Pat Popolizio. "Our guys showed a lot adversity battling back and winning the last few matches.
"(Freshman) Kevin Jack had an impressive performance tonight winning in dominating fashion against a redshirt senior. Our lone senior (in the lineup) Joe DeAngelo showed great leadership today by closing out the dual in a very tight match with a lot of pressure on him. The two falls by Nick (Gwiazdowski) and Nicky (Hall) were critical to our success tonight."
Gwiazdowski runs his school record to 47 consecutive wins dating back to last season. He has pinned each of his last six opponents, and finished the ACC season by pinning all five of his conference foes. DeAngelo finished the ACC season with a 4-1 mark, and has won five of his last six matches and 10 of 12 dating back to Jan. 7.
The dual started at 133 pounds with a UVA pin. NC State quickly grabbed the lead with back-to-back wins by a pair of freshmen.
At 141 pounds, freshman Kevin Jack scored his second straight bonus point win in ACC competition as he scored a 19-6 major decision. Followed up at 149 pounds by redshirt freshman Beau Donahue's 4-3 decision to put the Pack 7-6 after three bouts.
Virginia then reeled off three straight wins, including a pair of major decisions, to take a 17-7 lead with four left.
Another Pack freshman then stepped up, as Nicky Hall scored a pin at 184 pounds to cut into the UVA lead at 17-13.
In a marathon OT affair, UVA won the 197-matchup 4-3 and had a 20-13 lead with only two bouts left.
NC State has now recorded nine pins in ACC action this season, the other five ACC teams have combined for just six in all conference action.
The Pack finished at 3-2 in the ACC this season, finishing in second place among the conference's six teams - four of who are ranked in the top-25. It marked the Pack's highest finish since also placing second in 2007, and is an improvement from last season's fifth place regular season finish.
NC State's 16 dual wins this season are the third-most in school history, as only the 1985 (18) and 1989 (19) squads recorded more in a single season.
Up Next: The Pack will host its final home dual of the year this Sunday vs. #6 Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum. In addition to Senior Day, the last home dual will be the Pack's Military Appreciation Day as Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer will be honored. Two current MMA fighters will also be making appearances in Reynolds, current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and UFC middleweight fighter Luke Rockhold.
Results:
133: No. 14 George DiCamillo (UVa) fall Bryce Meredith (NCSU), 2:56; UVa 6-0
141: Kevin Jack (NCSU) major dec. No. 13 Joe Spisak (UVa), 19-6; UVa 6-4
149: Beau Donahue (NCSU) dec. TJ Miller (UVa), 4-3; NCST 7-6
157: Andrew Atkinson (UVa) dec. Chad Pyke (NCSU), 7-3; UVa 9-7
165: No. 4 Nick Sulzer (UVa) major dec. Max Rohskopf (NCSU), 12-4; UVa 13-7
174: No. 6 Blaise Butler (UVa) major dec. Pete Renda (NCSU), 17-6; UVa 17-7
184: Nicky Hall (NCSU) fall James Suvak (UVa), 6:17; UVa 17-13
197: No. 19 Zach Nye (UVa) dec. Mike Boykin (NCSU), 4-3 (TB-2): 20-13
285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) fall Patrick Gillen (UVa), 1:41; UVa 20-19
125: Joe DeAngelo (NCSU) dec. Nick Herrmann (UVa), 7-6; NCSU 22-20
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now