Sola's Pin Lifts Tar Heels Past Wolfpack, 19-16
Feb. 17, 2005
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina spotted rival NC State a 13-0 lead, but junior All-America Evan Sola broke open a tied match with a pin at 133 pounds to lift the Tar Heels (6-9, 4-2 ACC) to a 19-16 victory over the Wolfpack (7-7, 3-1 ACC) Thursday in Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling action at Carmichael Auditorium. Carolina's victory avenged a 21-17 loss to NC State in Raleigh on January 28 and snapped a three-match losing streak to the Pack. After eight bouts, the match was knotted at 13 as both teams had recorded three decisions and a major decision. With the Tar Heels having won the last four matches to get back in the match, Sola continued the momentum with a first-period pin of the Wolfpack's Matt Spengler in 2:43, which gave UNC a 19-13 lead. He had an early takedown and controlled the match until his career-best 10th pin of the season came with 17 seconds on the clock. The victory was Sola's 16th in a row and pushed his season mark to 28-3 and 15-0 in duals. State's Jeff Breese posted a 7-4 win over Isaiah Britton at 141 in the final bout of the night to trim final margin to 19-16. Trailing 13-0 after four bouts, the Tar Heels got on the board at 184 with an 8-2 decision by freshman Justin Dobies over State's Jeremy Colbert. The win snapped a three-match losing streak for Dobies and improved his season mark to 17-18. He has defeated Colbert twice this season. Carolina sophomore David Dashiell followed with a 3-2 decision over Zach Garren at 197 to cut the lead to 13-6. The match was tied at two at the end of regulation, but Dashiell, who is now 21-14 on the year, added a point for riding time to pick up the win.
Carolina tied the match thanks to Drew Forshey's 15-6 major decision over Garrett Cummings at 125. Forshey opened with two takedowns in the first period and took a 7-3 lead and added one in both the second and third periods to secure the win. He is now 16-7 on the season and 3-2 in duals. NC State ran off four straight wins to open the match and take the 13-0 advantage. Alex Hernandez posted a 7-3 decision over Chris Ramos at 149 in the first bout of the match, and Kody Hamrah followed with a 17-8 major decision over Greg Carr at 157. With Carolina trailing 7-0, junior Garrett Atkinson took a 2-1 lead over NC State's Ryan Nowicki early in the third period, but Nowicki tied the match with a late escape and then claimed the 4-2 win with a takedown in the sudden victory period. The Pack's Kevin Gabrielson then took an 8-5 decision over Alex Maciag at 174 to push the lead to 13-0. Maciag and Gabrielson traded reversals in the third period before Gabrielson had a takedown in the final 10 seconds of the bout to secure an 8-5 decision. Carolina is now off for three weeks and will return to action at the 2005 ACC Championships, set for March 5 in Greensboro. NORTH CAROLINA 19, NC STATE 16 |
