UNC Greensboro 19, Appalachian State 18
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University wrestling won five-straight matches to erase an early 13-0 deficit but couldn’t hold on to a five-point lead down the stretch in a 19-18 loss to UNC Greensboro in the Southern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday night in Varsity Gym.
The loss snapped a three-match winning streak and dropped Appalachian back to .500 on the season at 5-5-1. UNCG upped its impressive dual meet record to 7-1.
After falling into the 13-0 hole after just three bouts, the Mountaineers claimed five-straight victories to take an 18-13 lead. Terreyl Williams put the Apps on the board with a 15-8 victory at 133 pounds, but the turning point came when ASU 141-pounder Marcus Cox, trailing 4-0 midway through the second period, pinned nationally ranked Kevin Artis. Cox’s triumph turned what looked to be at least a 16-3 lead for UNCG into just a 13-9 ASU deficit heading into intermission.
Following the break, Appalachian got wins from 149-pounder Eric Burns, 157-pounder Scott Ervin and 165-pounder Lee Roper to grab the five-point lead with two bouts remaining. Ervin, the nation’s 19th-ranked 157-pounder, stretched his undefeated record to 17-0 on the season with a 1-0 victory over Nathan Berryman, while Roper returned from over a month away due to a knee injury to knock off Mark Ring, 5-2.
Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, the 18-13 lead slipped away over the final two matches of the evening, as UNCG’s Joe Lowe beat ASU’s Neal Martin, 6-4, at 174 pounds and Kane Smith shut out Kevin Worsowicz, 6-0, in the 184-pound finale to give the Spartans the come-from-behind victory.
Appalachian will look to move back over .500 on the season and even its record at 1-1 in SoCon action when it faces off with conference-rival VMI on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. in Varsity Gym.
UNC GREENSBORO 19, APPALACHIAN 18 ? Jan. 21, 2006 ? Boone, N.C. (Varsity Gym)
197 - Daren Burns (UNCG) maj. dec. Josh Carroll (ASU), 9-1 (4-0 UNCG)
HWT - Tyler Shovlin (UNCG) dec. Jared Campbell (ASU), 3-2 (7-0 UNCG)
125 - Justin Walp (UNCG) pinfall Tywana Holley (ASU), :22 3rd (13-0 UNCG)
133 - Terreyl Williams (ASU) dec. Chris Bencivenga (UNCG), 15-8 (13-3 UNCG)
141 - Marcus Cox (ASU) pinfall Kevin Artis (UNCG), 1:27 2nd (13-9 UNCG)
149 - Eric Burns (ASU) dec. Cody Harrington (UNCG), 6-4 (13-12 UNCG)
157 - Scott Ervin (ASU) dec. Nathan Berryman (UNCG), 1-0 (15-13 ASU)
165 - Lee Roper (ASU) dec. Mark Ring (UNCG), 5-2 (18-13 ASU)
174 - Joe Lowe (UNCG) dec. Neal Martin (ASU), 6-4 (18-16 ASU)
184 - Kane Smith (UNCG) dec. Kevin Worsowicz (ASU), 6-0 (19-18 UNCG)