Frank Abbondanza celebrates his clinching victoryNo. 19 Ward got the Tar Heels (9-4, 1-2 ACC) back in the dual with a dominant performance at 141. The Cincinnati, Ohio, redshirt sophomore took control with an early takedown and a pair of 2-point near falls in the first period. Ward started down in the second and quickly got another takedown and more back points before the match was stopped just 34 seconds into the final period.
Ward's win was the first of four straight victories for UNC as the hosts built a 14-7 lead. Redshirt sophomore Joey Moon led from start to finish in an 8-2 win over Chris Yankowich at 149 before redshirt senior Chris Mears grabbed an action-packed 9-7 decision over Andrew Atkinson at 157.
The matchup of No. 13 Ramos and No. 2 Sulzer at 165 figured to be the standout bout of the night and the two nationally ranked wrestlers did not disappoint. Sulzer took a 2-1 lead through one period and pushed it to 3-1 with a second-period escape. Ramos started the third period in the down position and quickly escaped before taking down Sulzer to take a 4-3 lead. Sulzer escaped to force overtime, but Ramos landed a shot in the first sudden victory period to claim the biggest win of his young career.
No. 7 Blaise Butler started the UVa comeback with his sudden victory win over John Michael Staudenmayer at 174. The two men were evenly matched throughout regulation, and both had chances for a takedown in overtime. Butler eventually got the points and the Cavaliers won tight decisions at 184 and 197 to regain the overall lead, 16-14.
That left 285 to decide the dual, with Abbondanza facing redshirt junior Pat Gillen. Neither wrestler scored in the opening period, as Abbondanza used some impressive athleticism to escape trouble after having to go to one leg. He then started the second period down and, after just missing out on a reversal, the Tar Heel senior escaped and notched a pair of takedowns to enter the final period with a 5-1 lead. Gillen escaped, but Abbondanza stayed aggressive in the final period and brought the Carmichael Arena crowd to its feet as the final seconds ticked away.
The team win was the first for Carolina against Virginia since 2009. The Tar Heels will look to even their ACC record at 2-2 Wednesday when they travel to Durham to face rival Duke at 7 p.m.
Results:
125: Nick Herrmann (V) maj. dec. Cody Karns (NC), 13-3 - UVa leads 4-0
133: #14 George DiCamillo (V) dec. Troy Heilmann (NC), 10-3 - UVa leads 7-0
141: #19 Joey Ward (NC) tech fall Justin Van Hoose (V), 15-0 (5:34) - UVa leads 7-5
149: Joey Moon (NC) dec. Chris Yankowich (V), 8-2 - UNC leads 8-7
157: Chris Mears (NC) dec. Andrew Atkinson (V), 9-7 - UNC leads 11-7
165: #15 Ethan Ramos (NC) dec. #2 Nick Sulzer (V), 6-4 (SV-1) - UNC leads 14-7
174: #7 Blaise Butler (V) dec. John Michael Staudenmayer (NC), 3-1 - UNC leads 14-10
184: Tyler Askey (V) dec. Scott Marmoll (NC), 4-2 - UNC leads 14-13
197: #19 Zach Nye (V) dec. Chip Ness (NC), 5-3 (SV-1) - UVa leads 16-14
285: Frank Abbondanza (NC) dec. Pat Gillen (V), 5-2 - UNC wins 17-16
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