The No. 16 North Carolina wrestling team saw two very different ends of the spectrum in its weekend matches against Oklahoma State and The Citadel.
The Tar Heels suffered a 33-6 defeat at the hands of the No. 5 Cowboys on Friday night before bouncing back to punish The Citadel 33-12 in a Sunday afternoon matchup.
UNC (13-5) was held at bay for most of Friday night. Two North Carolina wrestlers picked up victories, while five Tar Heels suffered bonus-point losses.
Oklahoma State's biggest win came when No. 12 Anthony Collica pinned No. 5 Evan Henderson in the 149-pound bout, marking the first time Henderson had been pinned since the 2013 NCAA Championships.
The Cowboys' Chandler Rogers also upset No. 2 Ethan Ramos in the 174-pound match. It was Ramos' third loss and his second in dual action against Rogers.
The Tar Heels picked up a big upset of their own in the 141-pound bout, where No. 9 Joey Ward handed No. 1 Dean Heil a 3-1 loss in sudden victory. Sophomore Chip Ness was the only other Tar Heel to win his match.
UNC flipped the script on Sunday afternoon in Charleston, S.C., seemingly taking the frustration from its Friday loss out on The Citadel. The Bulldogs only picked up two victories, while the Tar Heels picked up the other eight.
Redshirt senior John Michael Staudenmayer and Ramos both pinned their opponents, while first-year James Szymanski, redshirt senior Alex Utley and Ness all won by major decision.
Ward and Henderson rebounded from their losses against Oklahoma State to pick up wins at their respective weight classes, and redshirt first-year Cory Daniel concluded the match with a win in his heavyweight bout.
