No. 25 Tar Heels Beat Virginia In ACC Opener

Friday, January 19

Charlottesville, Va.

7 p.m.

North Carolina

Virginia

A.C. Headlee got UNC's first win of the night (photo courtesy of Jim Daves/UVA)

January 19, 2018 | Wrestling

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. --- No. 13 Ethan Ramos returned to the mat after a six-week injury layoff and scored a 14-5 major decision over Will Schany at 174 pounds to help No. 25 North Carolina to a 24-15 win over Virginia Friday night at Memorial Gym. No. 18 Chip Ness added a technical fall at 184 to put the Tar Heels ahead for good in the ACC opener for both schools.

No. 17 Danny Chaid and Cory Daniel made it four straight wins to close out the dual for Carolina (7-8, 1-0 ACC), who also got wins from No. 18 A.C. Headlee, No. 5 Troy Heilmann and No. 17 Kennedy Monday in taking seven of the 10 bouts on the night.

Ramos and Schany were actually scoreless after one period before the redshirt senior from Hawthorne, New Jersey, went to work. A pair of takedowns and an escape gave him a 5-1 lead after two periods, and Ramos added four more takedowns and a point for riding time to secure the 14-5 major decision.

.@EthanRamos_UNC returns from injury with a MAJOR!#NewBreed pic.twitter.com/PQdXfWT7EG
— UNC Wrestling (@UNCWrestling) January 20, 2018

Ness ended his win over Michael Battista 44 seconds into the final period for his eighth straight victory. The redshirt junior narrowly missed a first-period pin but still picked up bonus points for the fourth time since Christmas. Ness, Chaid and Daniel are now a combined 33-9 on the year in dual competition, and when combined with a healthy Ramos, form a formidable back end of the lineup.

The middle of the lineup has been pretty stout as well, and that's where Carolina turned things around on Friday. Virginia (3-6, 0-1) got a dream start with back-to-back pins at 125 and 133 before Headlee got the Tar Heels on the board with a 4-2 win over Sam Martino. Heilmann improved to 23-3 on the year and 13-2 in duals with a matching 4-2 decision over Sam Krivus at 149. The win was Heilmann's fourth in a row and his second in as many seasons over Krivus.

Monday won a high-scoring 10-7 decision over Fred Green at 157 before Virginia got its final win of the night, a 5-1 decision from Andrew Atkinson at 165.

Carolina returns to the mat next Friday when the Tar Heels host Pitt at Carmichael Arena.

No. 25 North Carolina 24, Virginia 15
125: #15 Louie Hayes (UVA) pinned James Szymanski (UNC), 4:06 - UVA leads 6-0
133: #6 Jack Mueller (UVA) pinned Zach Sherman (UNC), 6:52 - UVA leads 12-0
141: #18 A.C. Headlee (UNC) dec. Sam Martino (UVA), 4-2 - UVA leads 12-3
149: #5 Troy Heilmann (UNC) dec. Sam Krivus (UVA), 4-2 - UVA leads 12-6
157: #17 Kennedy Monday (UNC) dec. Fred Green (UVA), 10-7 - UVA leads 12-9
165: Andrew Atkinson (UVA) dec. Clay Lautt (UNC), 5-1 - UVA leads 15-9
174: #13 Ethan Ramos (UNC) maj. dec. Will Schany (UVA), 14-5 - UVA leads 15-13
184: #18 Chip Ness (UNC) tech fall Michael Battista (UVA), 17-2 (5:44) - UNC leads 18-15
197: #17 Danny Chaid (UNC) dec. Jay Aiello (UVA), 9-3 - UNC leads 21-15
285: Cory Daniel (UNC) dec. Tyler Love (UVA), 2-0 - UNC wins 24-15