Wrestling Downs Duke 29-6 In ACC Opener

Friday, January 21

Chapel Hill, N.C.

7 PM

North Carolina

Duke

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

January 21, 2022 | Wrestling

CHAPEL HILL - No. 22 North Carolina moved to 5-4 on the season with a 29-6 win over rival Duke in front of an electric Carmichael Arena in the Tar Heels ACC conference opener.

"I think we saw a lot of fight tonight," North Carolina head coach Coleman Scott said. "I think our energy was really good as well."

Spencer Moore won the first bout of the day with an impressive 10-1 major decision. The freshman secured his 10th victory by dominating Logan Agin for the entirety of the third period. Joe Heilmann quickly took care of business with a first-period pin to give the Tar Heels an early 10-0 match lead. Kizhan Clarke picked up the 5-2 decision to stay undefeated and extend the UNC lead to 13-0.

The Blue Devils would get on the scoreboard for the first time thanks to a hard-fought 3-1 sudden victory by Josh Finesilver over Zach Sherman. Austin O'Connor stopped the potential momentum shift and grew the Tar Heel lead to 16-3 with a 6-2 decision over Wade Unger. At 165, Sonny Santiago picked up his seventh win of the season with a 7-3 decision.

In a thrilling bout at 174 Clay Lautt earned the massive 8-5 decision over No. 13 Matt Finesilver. During the third period of the bout, UNC took a team point deduction due to an unsportsmanlike call to make it a 21-3 lead.

Gavin Kane fought hard and was able to pull out a 5-4 decision over Vincent Baker. Max Shaw continued his impressive form with a 16-1 technical fall over Kaden Russell. Brandon Whitman would end the night with a tough 3-1 sudden victory loss.

No. 22 North Carolina will look to complete a perfect weekend on Sunday when the Tar Heels host Little Rock for a 3 p.m. dual.

No. 22 North Carolina 29, Duke 6
Jan. 21, 2022 | Carmichael Arena | Chapel Hill, N.C.
125: No. 13 Spencer Moore (UNC) over Logan Agin (Duke) | 10-1 MD
133: Joe Heilmann (UNC) over Drake Doolittle (Duke) | Fall (2:12)
141: No. 7 Kizhan Clarke (UNC) over Parker Decker (Duke) | 5-2 Dec
149: No. 13 Josh Finesilver (Duke) over No. 20 Zach Sherman (UNC) | 3-1 SV
157: No. 6 Austin O'Connor (UNC) over Wade Unger (Duke) | 6-2 Dec
165: Sonny Santiago (UNC) over Gabe Dinette (Duke) | 7-3 Dec
174: No. 16 Clay Lautt (UNC) over No. 13 Matt Finesilver (Duke) | 8-5 Dec
184: No. 24 Gavin Kane (UNC) over Vincent Baker (Duke) | 5-4 Dec
197: No. 28 Max Shaw (UNC) over Kaden Russell (Duke) | 16-1 TF (2:40)
HWT: Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke) over Brandon Whitman (UNC) | 3-1 SV

*North Carolina team point deducted due to unsportsmanlike call in the third period of 174 match

Extra Matches:
165: Michael Goldfeder (UNC) over Brandon LaRue (Duke) | 6-2 Dec
184: Luke Chakonis (Duke) over Mark Chaid (UNC) | 3-1 Dec