The No. 12 North Carolina wrestling team continued its rise to national prominence with an upset victory over No. 3 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Friday night. The Tar Heels earned multiple surprising wins en route to a 23-10 final score.
What happened?
The theme of upsets started early with redshirt first-year Joey Melendez defeating No. 11 Joey Prata 8-7 in the first bout of the dual at 125-pounds. However, the momentum that came from the Melendez's big win was quickly squashed as Virginia Tech won the 133-pound bout by decision, making the team score 3-3.
That didn't last long, though, because No. 12 Zach Sherman picked up a ranked victory over No. 18 Mitch Moore at 141-pounds to give the Tar Heels momentum and a 6-3 lead. No. 2 Austin O'Connor then picked up a decision at 149-pounds, putting UNC in the driver's seat with a 9-3 lead.
The next two matches were going to decide the dual.
At 157-pounds, No. 19 A.C. Headlee picked up a 3-2 decision against No. 18 B.C. LaPrade, scoring the bouts' only takedown and stretching the North Carolina lead.
The next bout was a tough one for the UNC. No. 17 Kennedy Monday was set to take on No. 3 David McFadden at 165-pounds. But McFadden turned out to be no match for Monday, with the Tar Heel picking up a 21-7 technical fall victory, adding five points to the North Carolina total and pushing the team score to 17-3.
The dual was all but decided at this point but UNC picked up two more wins by decision at 174- and 197-pounds from Clay Lautt and Brandon Whitman, respectively.
Those victories brought the final team score to 23-10, a statement win for UNC over the Hokies.
