Feb. 2, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - In a non-conference wrestling doubleheader, North Carolina downed Drexel, 26-12, and lost to No. 25 Penn, 24-14, Saturday at The Palestra. Junior Keegan Mueller, redshirt freshman Nick Stabile and sophomore Dennis Drury each won both of their matches on the day for the Tar Heels (7-5).

Mueller extended his unbeaten streak at 165 pounds to 16 bouts and improved to 22-3 and 12-0 in dual action, while Stabile moved to 18-4 and 10-2 in duals at 141. Drury is now 14-10 and 7-3 in duals on the season at 197.

In the opener against the Dragons, sophomore Danny Lopes got UNC off to a fast start at 133 pounds with his first pin of the season over John McDermott in just 2:07. Stabile followed with an 8-2 decision over Morgan Remillard at 141, and junior Vincent Ramirez tacked on a 10-4 decision over Lewis Baker at 149 to give the Tar Heels a 12-0 lead.

After Drexel's first victory of the day, the 13th-ranked Mueller scored an 8-1 decision for his 15th straight win and a 15-3 Tar Heel advantage. Freshman Nick Tenpenny followed two matches later with a 4-3 decision at 184, and Drury and No. 18 Justin Dobies added major decisions to close the scoring for the Tar Heels. Drury posted an 8-0 win over Brian Stouffer at 197, and Dobies followed with a 14-6 decision over Bryant Deinhardt at heavyweight.

Senior Drew Forshey then withdrew with an injury default at 125 for the 26-12 final score.

With a 9-0 major decision against Penn's Phil Boyer, Stabile gave Carolina a brief 4-3 lead against the Quakers after two bouts. Three matches later, Mueller cut the lead to 9-8 with a 9-0 major decision over No. 17 Zack Shanaman, but Penn took four of the final five bouts matches to post the 10-point victory.

Drury picked up six points for the Tar Heels when Penn's Thomas Shovlin was forced to take an injury default at 197, but the Tar Heels gave the points back in the final match when Forshey was unable to go after his earlier injury default against Drexel. Dobies suffered his first loss in 10 matches when he dropped a 3-2 decision to Trey McLean.

Carolina is back in action Friday, Feb. 8 at NC State.

North Carolina 26, Drexel 12
Wt.	Result	Score/Time
133	Danny Lopes (UNC) pins John McDermott (DU)	           2:07
141	Nick Stabile (UNC) dec. Morgan Remillard (DU) 	           8-2
149	Vincent Ramirez (UNC) dec. Lewis Baker (DU)	           10-4
157	#11 Ryan Hluschak (DU) dec. Thomas Scotton (UNC)	   7-5
165	#13 Keegan Mueller (UNC) dec. Billy Haydt (DU)	           8-1
174	Scott Hunter (DU) dec. Kyle Kiss (UNC)	                   4-3 OT
184	Nick Tenpenny (UNC) dec. Justin Wieller (DU)	           4-3
197	Dennis Drury (UNC) major dec. Brian Stouffer (DU)	   8-0
HWT	#18 Justin Dobies (UNC) major dec. Bryant Deinhardt (DU)   14-6
125	#11 Steve Mytych (DU) injury def. Drew Forshey (UNC)	   6:58
#25 Penn 24, North Carolina 14
Wt.	Result	Score/Time
133	Bryan Ortenzio (Penn) dec. Danny Lopes (UNC)	            3-1
141 	Nick Stabile (UNC) major dec. Phil Boyer (Penn)	            9-0
149	#14 Cesar Grajales (Penn) dec. Vincent Ramirez (UNC)	    3-1 OT
157	Rob Hitschler (Penn) dec. Thomas Scotton (UNC)	            10-7 OT
165	#13 Keegan Mueller (UNC) major dec. #17 Zack Shanaman (Penn) 9-0
174	Jeff Zannetti (Penn) dec. Kyle Kiss (UNC)	             4-0
184	Lior Zamir (Penn) dec. Nick Tenpenny (UNC)	             3-2
197	Dennis Drury (UNC) injury def. Thomas Shovlin (Penn)	     3:26
HWT	Trey McLean (Penn) dec. #18 Justin Dobies (UNC)	             3-2
125	#8 Rollie Peterkin (Penn) wins via medical forfeit