Feb. 16, 2008

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - After being forced to forfeit at 125 pounds, North Carolina outscored No. 22 Pittsburgh the rest of the way but could not overcome its early deficit in a 20-19 loss Saturday at Fitzgerald Field House. The Tar Heels dropped their second tight match of the weekend to fall to 8-7, while the Panthers improved to 12-3 on the year.

No. 11 Keegan Mueller recorded a pin at 165 pounds, and sophomore Dennis Drury notched his second major decision of the weekend to highlight the UNC effort. Additionally, junior Justin Dobies registered a 3-1 win over No. 13 Zach Sheaffer at heavyweight for his third win over a ranked opponent this season.

With Carolina in a 6-0 hole after the opening bout, sophomore Danny Lopes scored a 7-3 win over Eric Rosencranz at 133 to cut the deficit in half. After a Pitt win at 141, junior Vincent Ramirez edged Joe Ciampoli, 6-5, to cut the lead to 9-6 after four bouts. Lopes evened his record at 13-13 with the win, while Ramirez won for the second time this weekend to move to 14-11.

With Carolina down 12-6 entering the 165 bout, Mueller pinned Ethan Headlee in just 1:12 to even the match at 12. The victory was his 19th in a row and marked his third pin of the season. Now 25-3 on the year, Mueller is an unblemished 15-0 in duals on the season.

Pitt captured the next two bouts, including a technical fall from No. 1 Keith Gavin at 174 to claim a 20-12 lead heading into the two final matches of the day. Drury followed with an 11-1 win over Dave Crowell for a technical fall at 197, and Dobies tacked on his two-point win for the 20-19 final margin. Drury improved to 17-10 on the year, while Dobies avenged a loss to Sheaffer earlier this season to move to 25-6.

The Tar Heels close out their home schedule next Saturday, Feb. 23 against The Citadel and Campbell.

#22 Pittsburgh 20, North Carolina 19
Wt.	Result							Score/Time
125	Ryan Bosso (PITT) wins via forfeit			FOR
133	Danny Lopes (UNC) dec. Eric Rosencranz (PITT) 		7-3
141 	Drew Headlee (PITT) dec. Nick Stabile (UNC) 		5-3
149	Vincent Ramirez (UNC) dec. Joe Ciampoli (PITT)		6-5
157	#7 Matt Kocher (PITT) dec. Thomas Scotton (UNC) 	6-1
165	#11 Keegan Mueller (UNC) pins Ethan Headlee (PITT)	1:12
174	#1 Keith Gavin (PITT) tech fall Kyle Kiss (UNC)		18-13(6:03)
184	Dave Sullivan (PITT) dec. Nick Tenpenny (UNC)		9-3
197	Dennis Drury (UNC) major dec. Dave Crowell (PITT)	11-1
HWT	Justin Dobies (UNC) dec. #13 Zach Sheaffer (PITT)	3-1