Behind a plethora of dominating dual wins, the North Carolina wrestling team (5-6, 1-0 ACC) cruised past the Duke Blue Devils (3-6, 0-1 ACC), 37-6, on Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
What happened?
The Tar Heels jumped out to an early six-point lead after Duke forfeited the opening bout. In the 133-pound dual, the Blue Devils sprung out in front behind a pair of takedowns. But first-year Jace Palmer would respond in the final period with a last-second takedown to secure the individual victory.
No. 13 Lachlan McNeil would secure a game-changing win for UNC in the following contest. The redshirt first-year capped off a stellar opening period with a four-point near fall. McNeil would go on to coast to a technical fall win in the second period, increasing North Carolina’s lead to 14-0.
Shortly after, redshirt seniors Zach Sherman and Austin O’Connor would continue the Tar Heels’ dominance. Sherman earned a major decision victory and O’Connor won by pin in the first period to stretch North Carolina’s advantage to 24 points.
In the 165-pound division, redshirt senior Joey Mazzara and Gabe Dinette went pound-for-pound in the initial period, with Mazzara earning the lone scoring play by way of takedown. But the following period followed a different story, as the UNC redshirt senior would open up a six-point lead before eventually prevailing by major decision.
No. 9 Clay Lautt would secure North Carolina’s second technical fall of the night in the following matchup. The redshirt senior attacked Gaetano Console from the jump, springing to a seven-point advantage in the first period. The Olathe, Kan. native would ramp up the pressure in the following minute of play and secure the 18-3 victory.
Another ranked Tar Heel — No. 14 Gavin Kane — would continue UNC’s impressive outing. The sophomore in the 184-pound class would win by major decision, giving North Carolina a 37-0 lead.
The Blue Devils would go on to prevail in the final two bouts, with No. 22 Jonah Nisenbaum capping off the heavyweight division with a two-point decision win. However, UNC’s early-dual victories were more than enough to push the Tar Heels to the win, 37-6.
