University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Nittany Lion Open
Six Tar Heels Place at Nittany Lion Open
December 5, 2010 | Wrestling
Dec. 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Redshirt freshman Zac Bennett finished third at 197 pounds and freshman Antonio Giorgio was fourth at 184 to pace North Carolina's wrestling team Sunday at the Nittany Lion Open, held on the campus of Penn State. No team score was kept at the event, but host Penn State led the way, boasting champions in three of the 10 weight classes.
Corey Mock (157) and Thomas Scotton (165) both earned fifth-place honors for UNC while Danny Lopes was sixth at 141 pounds. Brock LiVorio continued his strong season wrestling unattached, finishing third at 133 pounds.
Bennett began the day with two wins before falling to No. 9 Zac Thomusseit of Pittsburgh in the semifinals. He quickly rebounded in the third-place match, besting Maryland's Christian Boley by a 6-2 decision. With the result, Bennett moved to 9-5 on the season with all five defeats coming to top-20 opponents.
Giorgio built on his runner-up finish in the Hokie Open by finishing fourth. He opened the day reeling off four consecutive victories to reach the semifinals, including an 8-2 quarterfinal victory over Maryland's Corey Peltier. In the semis, Giorgio was defeated by sixth-ranked Quentin Wright of Penn State to fall into the third-place match, where he dropped an 8-5 decision to finish fourth.
Mock and Scotton followed similar paths, as both fell in close matches before rebounding to win their remaining matches and finish fifth. Mock won two early matches before he was defeated by defending ACC champion Jesse Dong 5-2. From that point, the freshman reeled off five straight wins, including a major decision, technical fall and a pin. Scotton logged a 5-1 record on the day, as he fell 3-1 in the quarterfinals and bounced back with three wins.
After registering a 2-0 mark at the ACC Challenge, Lopes continued his strong performance by going 5-2 in finishing sixth. His first loss was to eventual champion No. 12 Andrew Alton of Penn State, but he came back with four victories to reach the fifth-place match. LiVorio, who has captured two titles wrestling unattached, reached the semifinals and went 4-1 in the event to finish third.
Other Tar Heels to post winning records on the day included veterans Thomas Ferguson (4-2 at 174 pounds) and Nick Tenpenny (3-2 at 184).
The Tar Heels will be back in action when they travel to the Reno Tournament of Champions on December 19.
Players Mentioned
