Feb. 18, 2008

Friday, February 15, 2008 

NC State Snaps Skid Against Virginia Tech, 21-19

• Webcast on ACC Select

The NC State wrestling team defeated Virginia Tech in dramatic fashion 21-19 on senior night at Reynolds Coliseum on Friday night. Seniors Jay Coman, Chris Gambino and Jalil Dozier were honored before the match began.

The win snapped a three-match losing streak for the Pack as they improved to 9-10-1 overall and 2-4 in the conference on the season. Virginia Tech fell to 6-8 for the year and 1-3 in conference matches.

The Wolfpack got off to a nice start winning the first two matches before Virginia Tech won the next five. The first match began as Jalil Dozier received a forfeit at 165 pounds. Ray Ward then extended the Pack's lead to 9-0 as he defeated Andre Johnson 11-7. Ward recorded an early takedown and three near-fall points to take a 6-3 lead after the first period. The second period began as Ward recorded two escapes to lead 8-5 heading into the third period. In the period Ward recorded another takedown and an escape to win 11-7.

Trailing 9-0, Virginia Tech started to get rolling as they won the next five matches. Tommy Spellman got it started for the Hokies at 184 pounds when he won by technical fall over Dane Coffee 17-0. D.J Bruce followed in his footsteps by winning a major decision over Mark Jahad 15-6 to tie the team at 9-9.

• More from NC State
• More from Virginia Tech

Carolina Edged By Ohio, 22-20

North Carolina grabbed a 10-point lead on the strength of a pin by junior heavyweight Justin Dobies, but could not hold off a late rally by Ohio University in a 22-20 loss Friday at the Convocation Center. The Tar Heels dropped to 8-6 with the loss, while the Bobcats improved to 5-15.

In addition to the pin by Dobies, junior Keegan Mueller won his 18th straight bout at 165 pounds with a 10-0 major decision over Kent Smith to close the match. Sophomore Dennis Drury also picked up a major decision with a 13-1 victory over Chris Iammarino at 197 pounds.

---

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Hokies down Devils, 22-18

For the second night in a row, the outcome of the dual match came down to the last individual bout of the evening for the Virginia Tech wrestling squad. This time, though, the Hokies prevailed, beating Duke 22-18 Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Tech won six matches, all by true freshman. Things got started at 141 pounds, where freshman Chris Diaz rebounded from a difficult loss one night earlier to down Bryan Gibson, 8-3. At 149 pounds, freshman Nick Murray pinned Mike Degli Obizzi at the 6:47 mark to make it 9-0.

Voris Tejada picked up three team points for the Blue Devils with a 3-2 win over Tech's Matt Rosen at 157 pounds and Duke tied it up when the Hokies had to forfeit at 165 pounds. Duke took a six-point lead when Ben Wales pinned Andre Johnson at the 6:36 mark at 174 pounds.

Duke Splits Meets With VMI & Virginia Tech

The Blue Devil wrestling squad competed in two home dual meets on Saturday, dropping a 22-18 match with Virginia Tech before coming away with a 22-12 victory over VMI in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The contests marked the second and third of three consecutive duals at home for Duke after having a stretch of seven straight on the road. The Blue Devils are now 10-9 overall this season and 0-5 in the ACC.

Both meets began at 141 pounds and Duke got behind each time. Against Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils rallied from a 9-0 deficit to take a 15-12 lead. The Hokies took two straight decisions before Duke was able to knot the score 18-18. For the second meet in a row, Duke was tied going into its final match and lost on a major decision.

In the VMI contest, the Blue Devils rattled off six consecutive victories after falling behind 3-0, and they never looked back after that 22-3 lead was taken.

Leading the way were three middleweight wrestlers with two wins each, accounting for six of Duke's 10 total wins.

At 174 pounds, redshirt sophomore Ben Wales had an impressive day, picking up two wins including a pin against Virginia Tech's A.J. Johnson to give the Blue Devils a 15-9 lead at the time. The native of Otsego, Mich., is now 19-13 this year with three pins and a 9-5 dual meet mark. Wales' career record is 28-24.

Tar Heels Fall Short Against No. 22 Pitt, 20-19

After being forced to forfeit at 125 pounds, North Carolina outscored No. 22 Pittsburgh the rest of the way but could not overcome its early deficit in a 20-19 loss Saturday at Fitzgerald Field House. The Tar Heels dropped their second tight match of the weekend to fall to 8-7, while the Panthers improved to 12-3 on the year.

No. 11 Keegan Mueller recorded a pin at 165 pounds, and sophomore Dennis Drury notched his second major decision of the weekend to highlight the UNC effort. Additionally, junior Justin Dobies registered a 3-1 win over No. 13 Zach Sheaffer at heavyweight for his third win over a ranked opponent this season.