Feb. 16, 2008
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -
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.
With Carolina in a 6-0 hole after the opening bout, sophomore Danny Lopes scored a 7-3 win over Eric Rosencranz at 133 to cut the deficit in half. After a Pitt win at 141, junior Vincent Ramirez edged Joe Ciampoli, 6-5, to cut the lead to 9-6 after four bouts. Lopes evened his record at 13-13 with the win, while Ramirez won for the second time this weekend to move to 14-11.
With Carolina down 12-6 entering the 165 bout, Mueller pinned Ethan Headlee in just 1:12 to even the match at 12. The victory was his 19th in a row and marked his third pin of the season. Now 25-3 on the year, Mueller is an unblemished 15-0 in duals on the season.
Pitt captured the next two bouts, including a technical fall from No. 1 Keith Gavin at 174 to claim a 20-12 lead heading into the two final matches of the day. Drury followed with an 11-1 win over Dave Crowell for a technical fall at 197, and Dobies tacked on his two-point win for the 20-19 final margin. Drury improved to 17-10 on the year, while Dobies avenged a loss to Sheaffer earlier this season to move to 25-6.
The Tar Heels close out their home schedule next Saturday, Feb. 23 against The Citadel and Campbell.
#22 Pittsburgh 20, North Carolina 19
Wt. Result Score/Time
125 Ryan Bosso (PITT) wins via forfeit FOR
133 Danny Lopes (UNC) dec. Eric Rosencranz (PITT) 7-3
141 Drew Headlee (PITT) dec. Nick Stabile (UNC) 5-3
149 Vincent Ramirez (UNC) dec. Joe Ciampoli (PITT) 6-5
157 #7 Matt Kocher (PITT) dec. Thomas Scotton (UNC) 6-1
165 #11 Keegan Mueller (UNC) pins Ethan Headlee (PITT) 1:12
174 #1 Keith Gavin (PITT) tech fall Kyle Kiss (UNC) 18-13(6:03)
184 Dave Sullivan (PITT) dec. Nick Tenpenny (UNC) 9-3
197 Dennis Drury (UNC) major dec. Dave Crowell (PITT) 11-1
HWT Justin Dobies (UNC) dec. #13 Zach Sheaffer (PITT) 3-1
