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The Daily Tar Heel

Wrestling dismantles rival Duke on the mat

Drury’s pin clinches ?rst conference victory for UNC

North Carolina wrestler Daniel Helena attempts to escape the hold of Duke’s Brent Jorge on Tuesday. DTH/Alyssa Champion
North Carolina wrestler Daniel Helena attempts to escape the hold of Duke’s Brent Jorge on Tuesday. DTH/Alyssa Champion

The North Carolina wrestling team settled into the newly renovated Carmichael Auditorium quite nicely Tuesday night, coasting to a 26-12 victory against Duke.

“I told them before we came out here that this is our new house and we need to let them guys know this is our new house — and it’s our house,” coach C.D. Mock said.

The victory over the rival Blue Devils was especially sweet for senior Jeremy Shaw, who won the final home bout of his career to capture his sixth decision in his last seven tries.

“Our seniors did a great job,” Mock said. “Jeremy Shaw has just transformed himself as far as I’m concerned from a year ago. He’s just wrestling exceptionally well.”

Both Shaw, who started the season 6-7, and his coach attributed his turnaround to an increase in self-confidence.

“From there, it’s just so much easier to get rolling once you’ve got momentum, and that’s been the key,” Shaw said.

After falling behind 17-3 after five matches, the Blue Devils took the 174- and 184-pound bouts in dramatic fashion to close the gap to 17-9.

Fittingly, it was Dennis Drury who put the match out of reach on Senior Night. The senior earned a first period pinfall at the expense of Duke’s John Barone, clinching the victory.

“It was definitely nice to go out top,” Drury, ranked No. 12 in the country, said. “This being the last one, it was definitely nice to go out with a pin.”

The victory brings the Tar Heels’ conference record to an even 1-1 after the team opened up league play with a 41-0 home loss to No. 7 Maryland. While the loss was embarrassing at the time, Mock said it made his team better in the long run.

“A loss like that is gonna do one of two things. It’s going to either destroy you or motivate you,” he said.

“We did make a lot of changes after the Maryland match and it’s very evident to me that the changes we’ve made have been positive changes.”

Shaw and Drury were joined in the win column by Daniel Helena and Ziad Haddad. The Tar Heels also earned six points when Duke defaulted at the 165-pound weight class.

UNC continues its conference schedule on Saturday against Virginia Tech, a team Mock expects will push his squad to the limit.

“We’re gonna have our hands full — but so are they.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.

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