UNC Wrestlers Shut Out Spartans

The North Carolina wrestling team defeated UNC-Greensboro 41-0 last year, and the margin of victory was about the same this season.

But even as the Tar Heels rolled to a 35-0 win and won all 10 matches Saturday at Fleming Gym, the Spartans allowed just one pin.

The lone pin came in the 125-pound matchup between UNC's Chris Rodrigues and UNC-G's Tony Stewart.

Although Rodrigues was slowed by a bloodied bottom lip, he notched three takedowns before scoring the pin at 1 minute, 25 seconds in the third round.

By then, UNC (8-2) had already sealed the win with a 32-0 advantage. Earlier in the match, the Spartans (3-2) made things interesting.

With the Tar Heels ahead 4-0, UNC-G's Keith Ritter nearly scored a comeback victory against Andrew Slack in the 149-pound match.

Slack led 4-0 into the third period when Ritter scored a near fall. Slack held on for a 5-3 decision.

"I had a lead on him, but then he just got a good cradle on me," Slack said.

UNC's Matt Kenny also had an unexpected dogfight in his heavyweight match against Greg Forbes.

In round one, Kenny injured his ring finger on his right hand and was forced to tape it up. With Kenny's ability to grab Forbes limited, Forbes scored a reversal to tie the contest and send it to overtime.

The match went into double overtime with sudden death rules before Kenny could squeeze out a 2-1 win.

UNC coach Bill Lam said Kenny's match showed that the final score was not indicative of the Spartan effort.

Said Lam, "We could have lost a few, like the heavyweight, so they did a good job."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.