The Sun Devils (1-1) started the day with two straight wins, but Hernandez's first dual match as a Tar Heel proved to be vital. The 141-pounder was able to collect bonus points for Carolina, picking up six points in the final period for a 12-4 major decision. That was followed by another strong performance from a redshirt freshman, No. 16 Austin O'Connor's first win over a ranked opponent. His match against No. 11 Josh Maruca came down to the final seconds, but O'Connor was able to hang on to give the Tar Heels the lead.
The two teams traded wins at 157 and 165 -- No. 6 Kennedy Monday was able to cruise to an 11-7 decision -- but the match's tipping point came at 174 pounds, where Devin Kane was able to pin Arizona State's Jacen Petersen. Kane was on his way to a major decision win late in the third period when he was able to grind out a fall with 28 seconds to go, collecting three major bonus points for Carolina (2-0).
No. 8 Chip Ness battled with defending NCAA champ Zahid Valencia, who moved up to 184 pounds for Saturday's match for the full seven minutes and fell, 9-6, in a tight match. And after ASU's Kordell Norfleet was able to cut the UNC lead to 16-15 after the 197-pound match, a "Battle of the Brothers" was set up between No. 13 Cory Daniel and his younger brother, Brady, at the heavyweight slot.
With their family in attendance and all eyes on the brothers, Cory was able to pick up takedowns early and gain control for the rest of the way. He went on to command the entire match and earned a 12-3 major decision, giving the Tar Heels more bonus points and securing the 20-15 upset against the Sun Devils.
UNC returns to action on Nov. 25 at Appalachian State.
Results:
125: #9 Ryan Millhof (ASU) dec. Joe Heilmann (UNC), 3-0 – ASU leads 3-0
133: Josiah Kline (ASU) dec. James Szymanski (UNC), 5-2 – ASU leads 6-0
141: Jaime Hernandez (UNC) maj. dec. Cory Crooks (ASU), 12-4 – ASU leads 6-4
149: #16 Austin O'Connor (UNC) dec. #11 Josh Marcua (ASU), 3-2 – UNC leads 7-6
157: #6 Kennedy Monday (UNC) dec. Christian Pagdialo (ASU), 11-7 – UNC leads 10-6
165: #8 Josh Shields (ASU) dec. Josh McClure (UNC), 14-8 – UNC leads 10-9
174: Devin Kane (UNC) pinned Jacen Petersen (ASU), 6:32 – UNC leads 16-9
184: Zahid Valencia (ASU) dec. #8 Chip Ness (UNC), 9-6 – UNC leads 16-12
197: Kordell Norfleet (ASU) dec. Chasen Blair (UNC), 9-4 – UNC leads 16-15
285: #13 Cory Daniel (UNC) maj. dec. Brady Daniel (ASU), 12-3 – UNC wins 20-15
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now