Wrestling Falls To North Carolina In ACC Action

Wednesday, January 21

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Wrestling Falls To North Carolina In ACC Action

1/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.?Duke University junior John Barone captured his 27th victory of the season tonight as the Blue Devils fell to rival North Carolina 25-10 in ACC wrestling action. The match was the eighth installment in this season's Carlyle Cup competition between the Tar Heels and Duke.

North Carolina captured the one point to push its lead to 6.5-2.5 after eight contests. Tonight's wrestling match was the first of the meetings between the two schools in the winter season.

“Overall, I'm pleased with the team's performance,” head coach Clar Anderson said. “The guys did well in their bouts, but we just came up a little short on the scoreboard.”

The match started at 165 pounds with Addison Nuding going up against 16th-ranked Keegan Mueller. Mueller grabbed the early lead with a takedown and near fall for a 4-0 lead after the opening period. Nuding earned a point in the second session for an escape and headed into the third trailing 6-1. The Tar Heel senior added four more points to come away with four points with the 10-2 major decision.

In perhaps the most exciting match of the evening, junior Voris Tejada outlasted Ben Fiacco through six overtime sessions for the narrowest of victories. The duel was a rematch from an earlier overtime session between the two wrestlers.

After a scoreless first period between Tejada and Ben Fiacco, the Tar Heel grabbed a 1-0 lead with an escape in the second period. Duke's Tejada tied the score midway through the final session to send the duel into overtime.

In the first sudden victory overtime, Fiacco nearly scored the win before Tejada was able to get himself out of danger to force a pair of 30-second overtime sessions. Fiacco captured a 2-1 lead after 30 seconds from a stalling call on Tejada. Needing one point to tie the match, Tejada scored on an escape in the opening five seconds to make it 2-2.

Neither Tejada nor Fiacco scored in the second sudden victory overtime, but it was Tejada going in front 3-2 with another escape and holding an eight-second advantage in riding time. The Tar Heels' Fiacco tied the score 3-3, but it was not enough as Tejada's time advantage earned him the winning point. The win was his 18th of the season as he moved to 18-12 overall and 6-1 in dual matches.

“Voris had wrestled [Ben Fiacco] to an overtime match earlier in the year so they know each other,” Anderson said. “It's not the most exciting wrestling. It's kind of chess match between them and Voris prevailed. He's very competitive and he got a great win.”

Looking for the major decision victory, Barone was back on the mat for the Blue Devils. A native of Shirley, N.Y., Barone took an early 2-0 lead after three minutes and built that to a 6-2 advantage after the first five minutes.

With an eight-point advantage needed for a major decision victory, Barone went in front 8-2 before Daniel Llamas scored an escape point to make it 8-3. Barone answered right away with a takedown for a 10-3 lead and garnered an extra point for riding time to score the important four points in the 11-3 major decision. His win put Duke in front 7-4 after three matches.

Barone pushed his season record to 27-5 on the year and 5-0 in dual contests. He needs just three wins to break the career 100-win plateau.

“John looked great and it's great to have him back,” Anderson said. “It was a nice win early to keep us in it. We were a bit outmanned with a couple guys wrestling up a weight class later on in the match.”

Senior Dan Tulley went up against No. 17 Dennis Drury at 197 pounds. Tulley fought Drury in a close match, but could not get on the scoreboard, losing in a 2-0 decision.

The Tar Heels regained the lead, 10-7, with an 8-3 decision at heavyweight. North Carolina's Justin Dobies defeated Duke's Robert Holbrook with a big second period. North Carolina garnered three more points as Nick Shields defeated Peter Terrezza at 125 pounds, 6-2.

Earning the start at 133 pounds for Duke was Jack Anderson. Taking on No. 25 Mike Rappo, Anderson fought a close match until the last half of the third period when Rappo pulled away for the 13-5 major decision victory. The win added four more points to the Tar Heel total for a 17-7 lead with three matches remaining.

North Carolina continued to build on its lead with a major decision victory at 141 pounds. Spencer Jasper turned in a valiant effort, but 18th-ranked Vincent Ramirez proved to be too much as he earned a 12-4 major decision win.

Duke got back on track at 149 pounds with Dan Adamo registering a 9-4 decision over Jeremy Shaw. Adamo used an outstanding second period of wrestling to secure the victory as he scored seven points, including three at the close of the session for a near fall. He added his second takedown of the match in the final period for his 13th win of the season.

Sophomore Mike Bell closed out the match, wrestling up a weight class at 157 pounds against 27th-ranked Thomas Scotton. The Tar Heels went in front 4-2 after the opening three minutes and Scotton stretched his lead to 8-3 after five minutes of action. Scotton added three more points to earn the major decision win 12-4 and gave the Tar Heels a 25-10 ACC win.

“Dan Adamo had a nice win for us today and Mike Bell turned in a gutsy performance bumping up to 157 pounds,” Anderson said. “Jack Anderson had another good match after coming back from a concussion. He is progressing every day, it's just a shame we lost him for so long during the season.”

The Blue Devils continue their tough stretch on Jan. 24, hosting defending ACC Champion Maryland at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACC Select and a link will be available at www.GoDuke.com.

North Carolina 25, Duke 10
165 ? (UNC) #16 Keegan Mueller major dec. (Duke) Addison Nuding 10-2 (0-4)
174 ? (Duke) Voris Tejada dec. (UNC) Ben Fiacco 4-3 TB-2 (3-4)
184 ? (Duke) John Barone major dec. (UNC) Daniel Llamas 11-3 (7-4)
197 ? (UNC) #17 Dennis Drury dec. (Duke) Dan Tulley 2-0 (7-7)
285 ? (UNC) Justin Dobies dec. (Duke) Robert Holbrook 8-3 (7-10)
125 ? (UNC) Nick Shields dec. (Duke) Peter Terrezza 6-2 (7-13)
133 ? (UNC) Mike Rappo major dec. (Duke) Jack Anderson 13-5 (7-17)
141 ? (UNC) #18 Vincent Ramirez major dec. (Duke) Spencer Jasper 12-4 (7-21)
149 ? (Duke) Dan Adamo dec. (UNC) Jeremy Shaw, 9-4 (10-21)
157 ? (UNC) Thomas Scotton major dec. (Duke) Mike Bell 12-4 (10-25)