North Carolina Routs Duke, 33-9

DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina claimed a 33-9 win over rial Duke Tuesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Tar Heels dropped just two matches in the bout. Carolina tallied three consecutive major decisions at 149, 157 and 165 to put the match out of reach early. With the win Carolina extends its Battle of the Blues, presented by Continental Tire lead to 7-2 over the Blue Devils.
Carolina opened with a pair of forfeit wins as Duke failed to send a wrestler out at either the 125 or 133 pound weight classes.

Danny Lopes (141) looked to be on his way to adding three points with a decision as he led 3-1 in the dying seconds of his match against Mike Bell but Bell struck with a pin with less than a minute remaining to snatch the victory away and cut Carolina’s lead in half at 12-6.

Senior Nick Stabile made it 16-6 with an impressive 11-2 win over Andrew Guardado at 149. Stabile registered a pair of three-point near falls and a take down en route to his dominant win.

Corey Mock (157) turned in the most dominant performance of the night as he claimed an 18-5 win over Ryan Harding. Mock nearly had the technical fall after two periods as the score read 19-4 on the scoreboard. The wrestlers left the mat but were drawn back where Harding registered an escape for the final tally.

In action for just the second time this season, Kyle Kiss (165) posted a 15-3 major decision over Willy Melo. Kiss held a 6-1 advantage heading into the third period before erupting for three take downs and a nine-point period for the major decision at 165.

Thomas Ferguson (174) extended the lead to 21 points at 27-6 with a 9-4 decision over Bret Klopp. Ferguson posted a pair of take downs in the opening two periods and held Klopp scoreless in the final period for the win.

Antonio Giorgio (184) narrowly edged out Duke’s Diego Bencomo by a 7-5 margin. Giorgio and Bencomo were both unable to score in the opening period but Giorgio was able to strike first in the second with a three-point near fall. Giorgio would take on a reversal later in the period before hanging on for the 7-5 win.
Zac Bennett (197) made it five wins in a row with a 5-1 decision over Duke’s Brian Self. The match was scoreless through the opening two periods before Bennett tallied a reversal and a take down and claimed a point via riding time for the win.

To close out the evening Duke took just its second bout of the night when Andrew Fulk claimed a 5-1 decision over Ben Brooks at heavyweight to bring the final tally to 33-9.

North Carolina 33, Duke 9
125: Jake Corrill (NC) wins by forfeit (UNC, 6-0)
133: Pat Owens (NC) wins by forfeit (UNC, 12-0)
141: Mike Bell (DU) pins Danny Lopes (NC), 6:19 (UNC 12-6)
149: Nick Stabile (NC) major dec. Andrew Guardado (DU) (UNC 16-6)
157: Corey Mock (NC) major dec. Ryan Harding (DU), 18-5 (UNC 20-6)
165: Kyle Kiss (NC) major dec. Willy Mello (DU), 15-3 (UNC 24-6)
174: Thomas Ferguson (NC) dec. Bret Klopp (DU), 9-4 (UNC 27-6)
184: Antonio Giorgio (NC) dec. Diego Bencomo (DU), 7-5 (UNC 30-6)
197: Zac Bennett (NC) dec. Brian Self (DU), 5-1 (UNC 33-6)
HWT: Andrew Fulk (DU) dec. Ben Brooks (NC), 5-1 (UNC 33-9)

Courtesy of Dave Schmidt, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, University of North Carolina