Wrestling falls just short of win against NC State

Bonus points told the tale of the North Carolina wrestling team Friday night as the Tar Heels fell 19-16 to neighboring N.C. State at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum.

Sophomore Nathan Kraisser said the team placed extra emphasis on bonus points — the points a wrestler can attain through wins by major decision, technical fall, fall or pin — throughout the week in preparation for the dual meet against its ACC foe.

“We knew we could win,” said Kraisser, ranked 25th nationally.

“Go get bonus points — that was our team motto.

“Don’t give up bonus points and go get them.”

Kraisser did his part in helping the Tar Heels acquire those coveted points.

In a rapid sequence during the third period of his bout against Micah Perez, Kraisser earned a total of nine points from a five-second near fall, two takedowns and a near fall en route to his 11-2 win by major decision at 125 pounds.

Outside of Kraisser’s performance, however, North Carolina (5-9, 0-3 ACC) was unfruitful in its efforts of procuring bonus points.

Junior Evan Henderson, who defeated Sam Speno 7-0 in the 141-pound match to improve his record to 28-3 on the season, was unable to obtain bonus points after Speno shifted to a defensive strategy of curling up into a ball in order to prevent Henderson from winning by major decision or pin.

Henderson’s teammates and coaches voiced their displeasure with Speno’s defensive strategy throughout the match’s final period, but Henderson vigorously continued to pry Speno from his shell-like position.

Despite coming out with the victory in Friday’s match, Henderson was disappointed he was unable to provide more than the three team points he received for winning by decision.

“You can’t just wrestle for yourself,” said Henderson, ranked fourth nationally.

“You have to wrestle for the team. That was the motivation behind this week.

“As much as I want to win, I want to try to get that pin for the team.”

As for the team’s goal of not giving up bonus points, that also proved to be an unsuccessful endeavor.

Redshirt-freshman Scott Marmoll fell to Pete Renda, ranked 19th nationally, in a 12-3 loss by major decision after Renda tallied two takedowns within the first 40 seconds.

In the heavyweight match, freshman Bob Coe was literally unable to hold his ground against Nick Gwiazdowski, ranked fifth nationally, as Gwiazdowski knocked Coe clear off his feet with a surging takedown within the first 10 seconds of the match.

Gwiazdowski proceeded to pin Coe in a mere minute and three seconds — resulting in the Tar Heels facing a 16-6 deficit that would eventually prove to be insurmountable.

The Tar Heels split all 10 of their matches Friday but still walked away having lost their fifth consecutive match as a team this season.

The disparity in bonus points played a major factor in this, and, in order to achieve those bonus points and get off this schneid, associate head coach Cary Kolat said it comes down to the team coming together.

“We are a team that continually has been coming up inconsistent,” Kolat said.

“It’s the guys. They need to pull themselves together as a team.”

sports@dailytarheel.com