The North Carolina wrestling team (5-4, 0-1 ACC) fell to No. 20 Arizona State (7-2) in a 31-9 loss on Friday night in Tempe, Arizona.
What happened?
The Sun Devils started the night hot, getting a fall — when both shoulders are forced to the mat for one second — in the 184-pound division, commandeering a 6-0 lead. The Tar Heels answered back in the 197-pound bout as junior Daniel Chaid achieved a major decision, scoring his team four points.
In the heavyweight division, Cory Daniel lost a 6-1 decision to put the team match score at 9-4. And by the 141-pound bout, the Tar Heels notched their last point of the night after redshirt senior Joey Ward picked up a technical fall and awarded his team five points to put the match at 15-9. But Arizona State pulled away from this point on, scoring the final 16 points en route to a convincing win.
Who stood out?
Fifth-ranked Joey Ward was a bright spot for the Tar Heels in the loss. An All-American last year, Ward picked up a technical fall — which occurs when you get ahead of your opponent by 15 points to end the match — and the final points for North Carolina.
Ward has had several solid individual finishes this year, coming in third in the Southeast Open to begin the season and second in the Southern Scuffle earlier this month.
When was it decided?
Arizona State began to pull away when Sun Devil redshirt first-year Josh Maruca notched a 9-1 major decision at the 149-pound division. Momentum clearly swung and North Carolina, even with No. 7 Ethan Ramos to conclude the match for the Tar Heels, could not garner another team point.
