North Carolina State University Athletics
North Carolina edges NC State In Wrestling, 16-14
1/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Drew Forshey’s 9-2 decision over Taylor Cummings at 125 pounds, the final bout of the night, sealed the deal for North Carolina, which defeated NC State 16-14 Friday night at UNC’s Carmichael Auditorium.
The Wolfpack and Tar Heels split the 10 bouts. The keys to the victory were a 10-0 major decision scored by Robert McCarthy over NC State’s Jeremy Colbert at 184, and the four points that Mike Rappo scored in the final 20 seconds in his 16-9 loss to the Wolfpack’s Darrion Caldwell. Before the late takedown and two-point near fall by Rappo, Caldwell was leading 15-5 and appeared poised to win an easy major decision.
A third key was a team point deducted from NC State following Jainor Palma’s 4-2 decision over eighth-ranked Spencer Nadolsky in the second sudden victory period of the heavyweight bout. Turn those three points around and the Wolfpack takes a 16-15 victory.
“We didn’t wrestle that well, and North Carolina took it to us,” Wolfpack coach Carter Jordan said. “We have to learn from this. We have another big match (Saturday) night against Navy. We have to turn right around and get ready for that.”
The two teams split the first eight bouts, with neither team winning two matches in a row until Ryan Goodman and Palma won back-to-back at 197 and heavyweight. North Carolina’s Evan Sola opened the match with a 6-1 decision over Garrett Cummings at 133.
Caldwell followed with a near-dominant performance over Rappo. Caldwell opened the bout with a takedown and three-point near fall, let Rappo escape, then took him down again. Caldwell ended the first period with a 7-2 lead and went into the third period leading 10-3. Caldwell opened the third period in the down position, escaped, then took Rappo down twice before Rappo’s four-point flurry at the end turned four points for the Wolfpack into three.
UNC came right back at 149 with Vincent Ramirez, recently bumped up from 141, taking a 10-7 decision over Joe Caramanica, ending Caramanica’s winning streak at four. Both wrestlers had six points on reversals, but Ramirez won the bout with a near fall at the end of the second period.
Kody Hamrah evened the team score at 6-6 with an 11-6 decision over Ben Fiacco at 157 pounds. Hamrah blew the bout open in the second period with two takedowns and an escape.
Sophomore Obie Simpson’s return to action for the Wolfpack resulted in a 5-1 defeat at the hands of 15th-ranked Keegan Mueller in the 165-pound match .Simpson’s only point was for a first-period escape.
Randy Goodman pulled the Wolfpack back even at 9-9 with a 7-3 decision over Jake Forestiere. Goodman opened the bout with a takedown and a two-point near fall, and added two more back points in the third period.
McCarthy’s major decision over Colbert, the defending conference champion at 184, made it 13-9 in favor of the Tar Heels. McCarthy had a takedown in all three periods.
Ryan Goodman, ranked No. 12 nationally, got three points back for the Wolfpack with a 9-7 decision over Dennis Drury at 197. An escape and a takedown by Drury in the third period tied the bout at 6-6, but Goodman got a reversal, plus a point for riding time. The decision extended Goodman’s career-best winning streak to 10.
Palma got a huge monkey off his back with his 4-2 decision over Nadolsky, who entered the match with a 4-0 record against Palma. Each of the previous four bouts was agonizingly close, but Palma got a takedown late in the second sudden victory period to notch his first career win against Nadolsky and give the Pack a 14-13 lead after the team point for excessive celebrating was deducted.
That left it to Taylor Cummings and Forshey, and Forshey won easily, rolling up an 8-0 lead before Cummings managed a third-period escape. Cummings was awarded a point with seven seconds remaining in the match when Forshey illegaly slammed Cummings to the mat on his head. According to the rules, had Cummings been unable to continue after two minutes, Forshey would have lost the bout in a forfeit. Cummings got up after two minutes and finished the bout rather than take a dishonest forfeit.
NC State returns to action Saturday night at Reynolds Coliseum against 22nd-ranked Navy. The bout will begin at 7 o’clock.
North Carolina 16, NC State 14
133 – Evan Sola (UNC) dec. Garrett Cummings, 6-1
141 – Darrion Caldwell (NCS) dec. Mike Rappo, 16-9
149 – Vincent Rodriguez (UNC) dec. Joe Caramanica, 10-7
157 – Kody Hamrah (NCS) vs. Ben Flacco, 11-6
165 – Keegan Mueller (UNC) dec. Obie Simpson, 5-1
174 – Randy Goodman (NCS) dec. Jake Forestiere, 7-3
184 – Robert McCarthy (UNC) major dec. Jeremy Colbert, 10-0
197 – Ryan Goodman (NCS) dec. Dennis Drury, 9-7
Hwt – Jainor Palma (NCS) dec. Spencer Nadolsky, 4-2, sv*
125 – Drew Forshey (UNC) dec. Taylor Cummings, 9-2
*NC State penalized one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct
