At 184 pounds Thomas Ferguson took a 3-2 lead over Rober O'Neill after the first period before going to work on the freshman picking up a pair of three-point near falls in the second to take an 9-3 lead. An escape followed by another takedown sealed the bout for Ferguson as he claimed a 13-3 major decision to get the Tar Heels out to a 4-0 lead.
Sophomore Zac Bennett jumped out to a 5-0 with a great first period as he claimed a quick take down and nearly picked up a pin with a three-point near fall. Bennett added two points in the second before racking up UNC's second straight major decision with an 11-1 win.
Frank Abbondanza snapped a 15-bout losing streak with an impressive performance against Josh Davis. Wrestling two classes above his weight class all season long, Abbondanza battled Davis to a 2-2 tie after two periods before getting a two-point near fall and added a minute of riding to claim a 5-2 win. The decision upped Carolina's lead to 11-0 after just three bouts.
The Wolfpack answered at 125 pounds when Coltin Fought was able to UNC's Josh Craig in 2:11 to claim six team points for NC State. Fought entered the dual 21-7 on the year for the Wolfpack.
Senior Brock LiVorio got back on the winning side as he nearly picked up the third major decision of the night with an 11-4 decision over Ben Elliott at 133 pounds. LiVorio picked up a take down in each period and held off Elliott from responding throughout the bout.
Evan Henderson fell into a 5-2 hole after the first period against No. 10 Darrius Little at 141 pounds and was unable to battle back. The senior Little was able to claim an 8-3 decision against Henderson and pull the Wolfpack within five at 14-9.
Jon Burns and Matt Nereim turned in an entertaining first period as both nearly pinned the other and were knotted up at 5-5 at the end of three minutes. Burns and Nereim were tied at 9-9 in the final minute with Burns holding more than 2:30 of riding time before Nereim pulled off a reversal and pinned Burns for six points. The Wolfpack took a 15-14 lead at that point in the dual.
At 157 pounds No. 17 Corey Mock battled senior Colton Palmer through the first two periods gaining a 2-0 advantage and 2:30 of riding time before getting another take down in the third period to claim a 5-0 decision. Mock's win put Carolina back in front by a 17-15 margin with two bouts remaining.
Senior Kyle Kiss battled Nijel Jones at 165 pounds and came away with an 8-2 decision after picking up take downs in the first two periods. Kiss nearly came away with a major decision but the buzzer sounded before he was able to get a late takedown. Carolina held a five point advantage heading into the final bout at 174 pounds.
Freshman Alex Utley went up against senior Quinton Godley and helped Carolina hold on for the 20-18 victory. Godley came out on top with a 7-1 decision to provide the final margin.
The win snapped a six-dual losing streak for the Tar Heels who improve to 3-13 on the year and finish the ACC regular season with a 2-3 dual mark.
Up next for the Tar Heels is a trip to Campbell Saturday, Feb. 11 for a pair of duals against Northwestern and Campbell.
Results:
184 - Thomas Ferguson (UNC) over Robert O'Neill (NC State) MD, 13-3 - UNC 4-0
197 - Zac Bennett (UNC) over KaRonne Jones (NC State) MD, 11-1 - UNC 8-0
HWT - Frank Abbondanza (UNC) over Josh Davis (NC State) Dec, 5-2 - UNC 11-0
125 - Coltin Fought (NC State) over Josh Craig (UNC) Fall, 2:11 - UNC 11-6
133 - Brock LiVorio (UNC) over Ben Elliott (NC State) Dec, 11-4 - UNC 14-6
141 - #10 Darrius Little (NC State) over Evan Henderson (UNC) Dec, 8-3 - UNC 14-9
149 - Matt Nereim (NC State) over Jon Burns (UNC) Fall, 6:46 - NC State 15-14
157 - #17 Corey Mock (UNC) over Colton Palmer (NC State) Dec, 4-0 - UNC 17-15
165 - Kyle Kiss (UNC) over Nijel Jones (NC State) Dec, 8-2 - UNC 20-15
174 - Quinton Godley (NC State) over Alex Utley (UNC) Dec, 7-1 - UNC 20-18
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