Late match victories secure first win for UNC wrestling

The No. 24 North Carolina wrestling team (1-0) opened its season with a 23-10 victory against Tennessee Chattanooga on Sunday. The Tar Heels dropped the first three duals before going on to win the final seven matches. 

What happened?

North Carolina defended its preseason ranking in the first dual-meet of the season. The Tar Heels came into the match against an unranked opponent after posting a strong performance at the Hokie Open a week before. This meeting was the first on a three-match season-opening road trip. 

Chattanooga came out of the gates hot with three straight victories, giving them an early 10-0 lead. The Tar Heels came close to preventing this early skid when senior James Szymanski forced his 133-pound bout to overtime. Chattanooga’s Jake Huffine, however, scored on a takedown to defeat Szymanski.

Once UNC’s No. 16 Austin O’Connor and No. 7 Kennedy Monday won the 149 and 157-pound bouts in convincing fashion, the Tar Heels never looked back and went on to win the remaining matchups for a win of 23-10.

Who stood out?

The Tar Heels had four nationally ranked wrestlers on their squad coming into this dual-meet and all four earned victories. O’Connor and Monday won along with captains No. 7 Chip Ness and No. 15 Cory Daniel. 

Ness and Daniel are expected to anchor the team at the end of meets in the 184-pound and 285-pound weight classes. Both are redshirt seniors and came into the season with high expectations, as seen by their rankings.

Ness extended UNC’s lead to 16-10 after shutting out his opponent and earning a 4-0 decision. This victory put the match out of Chattanooga’s reach with two winnable matches remaining for UNC. 

One of those matches was the last of the day in the 285-pound bout. The match was all but over but Daniel still had a chance to defend his ranking and earn a win. Daniel faced Chattanooga senior Connor Tolley and won convincingly with a 6-1 decision.

When was it decided?

UNC had a number of dominant victories throughout the meet, but it was the closer wins that decided the match. After O’Connor and Monday shifted the momentum UNC’s way, redshirt sophomores Josh McClure and Devin Kane won two key matches to tie the match and give the Tar Heels the lead. 

McClure lead the 165-pound bout 4-2 after two periods and pulled away in the third to win by a 9-4 decision and tie the overall score at 10-10. 

Next up was the 174-pound bout where Kane won in the waning moments of the match with a takedown and riding time point. That 4-1 decision gave UNC a 13-10 lead over Chattanooga which all but sealed the deal with the Tar Heels’ nationally ranked captains still to wrestle.

Why does it matter?

UNC has had big performances to open the season as opposed to last season when the team dropped their first two matches. This victory was a tone setter for the Tar Heels as they look to continue their momentum into two straight away matches. 

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels continue their road trip in Tempe, Az., where they take on No. 11 Arizona State on Saturday at 2 p.m. 

@matt_chilson

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com