University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Michigan State
Mueller Paces Tar Heels At ACC/Big Ten Clash
November 15, 2008 | Wrestling
Nov. 15, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Senior 165-pounder Keegan Mueller won two of his three bouts and recorded a victory over No. 14 Rex Kendle of Michigan State to lead host North Carolina Saturday in the third-annual ACC/Big Ten Clash at Eddie Smith Field House. The Tar Heels dropped a number of close bouts to their Big Ten opponents and finished 0-3 on the afternoon.
Carolina suffered an 18-12 loss to Michigan State to open the event and followed with setbacks against No. 12 Wisconsin (27-8) and No. 9 Illinois (26-9). In all, the Big Ten won eight of the nine duals with Virginia's 23-15 victory over Michigan State ranking as the ACC's lone victory.
Mueller, who transferred to Carolina from Big Ten program Ohio State, continued his success against his former league in this event, running his career mark to 8-1. After posting a 5-0 record over the last two seasons, Mueller won his first two matches Saturday without allowing a single point. He topped Kendle by a 7-0 margin and needed just 2:05 to rack up 15 points on Wisconsin's Gabe Stopplemoor to claim a technical fall.
Mueller had a chance to pick up a second win over a ranked opponent on the day but was edged by No. 13 Roger Smith-Bergsrud of Illinois in his final bout. Smith-Bergsrud broke a 2-2 tie with an escape in the third period, and Mueller was unable to follow with a takedown to secure the victory.
Classmate Daniel Llamas joined Mueller with a win over a ranked opponent, as he shocked No. 8 Patrick Bond of Illinois, 5-3, at 197 pounds in Carolina's 26-9 loss to the Illini.
The Tar Heels' No. 13-ranked heavyweight Justin Dobies nearly joined that group but suffered a pair of one-point losses to top-10 ranked opponents. After a win against Michigan State, Dobies fell by a 3-2 score to both No. 3 Kyle Massey of Wisconsin and No. 6 John Wise of Illinois.
In the opener against the Spartans, the teams split the first six bouts, wrestling to a 9-9 tie, but Michigan State took the next three to pull away for the 18-12 victory. Mike Rappo (14-7 over Collin Dozier) and Nick Stabile (8-2 over David Cheza) came up with wins at 141 and 149 to put UNC on the board. Mueller followed two bouts later with his first victory of the day at 165 - the shutout of the 14th-ranked Kendle - to tie the score at nine.
In the 174-pound bout, John Murphy topped Ben Fiacco in overtime, 4-2, to open a three-match run for the Spartans. Heavyweight Justin Dobies closed the match with a 3-1 decision over Alan O'Donnell.
In their second dual of the afternoon, Carolina gave the 12th-ranked Badgers a battle, despite the 27-8 final score. The Tar Heels suffered four one-point losses, including narrow defeats for Stabile and Dobies, who were facing top-seven ranked opponents at 149 and heavyweight, respectively.
In his lone action of the day, Jeremy Shaw put Carolina on the board at 133 with a 10-5 decision over Erik Senescu, and Mueller followed with the technical fall over Stopplemoor at 165, needing just 2:05 to claim the first-period victory.
In the nightcap against Illinois, the Tar Heels suffered a pair of major decision losses to open the match and could not bounce back. Wins by Vincent Ramirez (5-2 over Ryan Prater) and Thomas Scotton (9-4 over Grant Passwall) at 141 and 157 trimmed the lead to 11-6, but the Illini scored the next 12 points to secure the match before Llamas' upset of Bond closed the scoring for UNC.
Carolina is back in action Sunday, Nov. 23 at Binghamton University's Sprawl & Brawl.
Players Mentioned
