While the crowd at Carmichael Arena was calling for a two-point takedown, Evan Henderson had bigger ideas in his final home match.
The redshirt senior pinned Pittsburgh’s Robert Lee in the 149-pound bout as No. 13 North Carolina (12-4, 2-3 ACC) cruised to a 26-12 victory Saturday over No. 21 Pittsburgh (9-6, 1-3 ACC) on senior night.
“We pretty much annihilated them,” Henderson said. “I wanted to come off the mat with a pin no matter what, and it was my last time wrestling in this gym so I had to end it the right way.”
For Henderson, the motivation on senior night was compounded by the opportunity the Tar Heels had to avenge their lackluster 21-17 loss to Duke on Wednesday.
“I don’t know if we were as psyched up for Wednesday as we should have been,” Henderson said. “Tonight, we were pissed and we wanted to get back in the win column."
Coach Coleman Scott also noticed the increase in intensity Saturday compared to the loss to Duke.
"I wasn’t overly impressed," he said. "But I saw a lot of energy and effort, so I think we’re getting there.”
In addition to Henderson, redshirt seniors Christian Barber, John Michael Staudenmayer and Alex Utley were all victorious in their final bouts at home.
“I feel really happy for them,” Scott said. “It’s good that we sent them off like this and it was huge for them, because they’ve given a lot to this program and university.
