Wrestling Rips Maryland

But the one-two combo of heavyweight Matt Kenny and 125-pounder Chris Collins dominated their opponents from Maryland on Sunday with a flair worthy of Rick.

The pair also secured another ACC win for the North Carolina wrestling team (8-4,

4-0 in the ACC), which beat the Terrapins 24-12.

Saturday, the Tar Heels beat Navy 21-13 in Annapolis, Md.

With the Tar Heels leading 13-9 against the Terps (3-5, 1-2), Kenny

(14-2) stepped onto the mat against James Taylor (4-9) and simply had his way.

After building an 8-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and six near-fall points, Kenny earned the Tar Heels six points by pinning Taylor with 36 seconds left in the second period.

"I just wanted to beat him first and then pin him if I could," Kenny said. "He was really big, but he wasn't that tough."

UNC's lineup then went from the monstrous to the minute as Collins (12-9) faced Joe Guzzio (15-11).

"It was supposed to be a pretty close match," Collins said. "I always get nervous before my matches, but I guess that's a good sign."

The nervousness certainly was not a bad omen as Collins used his superior strength and quickness to dominate Guzzio. He scored five points for the Tar Heels by earning a technical fall with his 15-point margin of victory (17-2).

"He's such a little scrapper," UNC coach Bill Lam said of Collins. "I'm proud of him. He was supposed to be last in the conference, and now he could be first."

Collins' and Kenny's wins gave the Tar Heels a 24-9 lead with one match remaining -- a rematch of last year's

133-pound ACC Championship final.

UNC's Brad Byers (13-7) faced Brandon York (23-3) and could not avenge last year's loss, falling 8-2.

The Tar Heels' top wrestlers, JohnMark Bentley and Corey Bell, fared better.

Bentley, 25-1 and ranked No. 7 nationally in the 149-pound weight class, lost his struggle to pin a defensive-minded Bryan Robinovitz (3-10). He won his match easily, though, 20-8.

Bell (20-5) had more difficulty in his match. He wrestled patiently, winning

4-1 on the strength of one takedown.

UNC's Nick Richmond (14-9) and Maryland's Jake Stork (19-6) tussled at 184-pounds in the most dramatic match of the day.

Richmond lost 8-7 as Stork evaded a takedown and performed one of his own with eight seconds left in the match.

"Nick wrestled a great match, came back and wore Stork out," Lam said. "I was really frustrated by the call. I felt Nick had control, and if he gets the two, we win."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.