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The Daily Tar Heel

No. 15 UNC wrestling falls to No. 25 Princeton in New Jersey, 23-16

wrestling
Cory Daniel (right) and David Jensen compete in the heavyweight match during the home wrestling match vs. Nebraska on Saturday, Dec. 15 2018.

The North Carolina wrestling team fell to the Princeton Tigers, 23-16, in New Jersey on Friday night, despite splitting the victories 5-5 in individual matches. 

What happened?

The No. 25 Tigers pounced on the No. 15 Tar Heels (7-5) out of the gate. No. 10 Pat Glory in the 125-pound weight class and Marshall Keller in the 141-pound weight class combined to win their matches, 27-9, and secure major decisions on the way to an 11-3 lead. 

Redshirt sophomores Josh McClure and Sawyer Davidson helped get North Carolina back on track with back-to-back victories by decision in the 157- and 165-pound weight classes, respectively. Davidson particularly took control, winning his match 11-5, to shrink Princeton’s lead to 11-9. The momentum was short-lived, however, as Princeton’s first-year Travis Stefanik in the 174-pound weight class forced a fall from UNC’s Devin Kane, earning six points for the team and ballooning the lead to 17-9 just over halfway through the match. 

It appeared the Tar Heels were fighting their way into the match. Down eight points, redshirt senior No. 14 Chip Ness won his 184-pound match, and Chasen Blair seemed to be on the way to a victory of his own. At one point trailing 14-4, Princeton’s sophomore No. 3 Patrick Brucki forced yet another fall, winning another six points for the Tigers out of apparent defeat. This was a deathblow to the Tar Heels' momentum and their hopes of victory, putting them down 23-12 with only one match remaining.

Redshirt senior Cory Daniel finished the match with a 19-5 major-decision victory over Princeton’s Kendall Elfstrum in the 285-pound weight class. The convincing effort was not enough to dig UNC out of its 11-point hole, culminating in a seven-point defeat.

Who stood out?

On what was a disappointing night for the Tar Heels, head coach Coleman Scott said he thought one wrestler stood out. “Sawyer [Davidson] fought his way through the match, wrestling up a weight,” Scott said. Davidson typically wrestles at the 157-pound weight class, but took on an opponent in the 165-pound class and won a decision, 11-5. 

When was it decided?

The match was decided in the 197-pound weight class between UNC’s Kane and Stefanik. Kane dominated the majority of the match, at one point leading, 14-4. If he secured a major decision, the Tar Heels would have been within one point. But just after two minutes into the match, Stefanik turned the tide and scored six points after forcing a fall from Kane. Instead of trailing by one, UNC found itself down 11 points, out of reach for the victory in the final match.

Why does it matter?

The loss was concerning for the Tar Heels because they seemed to wrestle without intensity. “We had no energy, no effort, top to bottom” Scott said. Scott said he expects more from his team and will look for more spirit and toughness in the future. 

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels have a lengthy break before they are back in action on Jan. 26 vs. Virginia in Carmichael Arena at 6:30 p.m.

@tommyfradenburg

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com

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