After a last-second loss at No. 3 N.C. State gave the No. 8 North Carolina wrestling team its first ACC defeat of the season, there were no signs of sulking in Carmichael Arena on Sunday as the Tar Heels took on No. 9 Pittsburgh.
In the final dual of a five-match stretch that saw UNC face three top-10 opponents, the Tar Heels did not relent. Coming off of the emotional loss to the Wolfpack, North Carolina didn't have any trouble getting up for a major dual at home.
The Tar Heels exploded out to a 22-3 lead after winning six of their first seven matches and never looked back on the way to a 22-14 victory.
"'We've got another top-10 team in the building — let's show them who we are,'" head coach Coleman Scott said of the message to his team.
Four of the six Tar Heels that suffered losses against the Wolfpack last week were able to bounce back with winning performances on Friday against another top-10 ACC opponent. Redshirt sophomore Clay Lautt’s performance was particularly impressive coming off of a stinging loss at N.C. State. In the 174-pound bout, Lautt picked up a 15-5 major victory that gave the Tar Heels bonus points and a 22-3 lead that they wouldn't give up, despite losing the final three bouts of the night.
“When you lose, it highlights areas you need to work on, so it's easy to go into that week of practice with a lot of motivation,” Lautt said. “It gives you a lot of anger and aggression to take out on the next opponent.”
Another key victory for North Carolina came in the 165-pound bout, with No. 15 Kennedy Monday pulling a hard-fought victory against No. 12 Jake Wentzel. It was clear that Monday was motivated for this top-15 matchup, as he came onto the mat skipping and maintaining a look of aggression.
By the end of the match, Monday was bleeding, limping and had lost a contact lens. Despite this, the redshirt junior clawed his way to an 8-5 victory against one of the best 165-pound wrestlers in the conference.
“Two top-10 teams in the nation were going head-to-head, so it was a big match for us,” Monday said. “All week it was, ‘Keep going straight,’ and we got the win so we’re excited about that.”
