The Citadel 23, UNC Pembroke 9
Charleston, S.C. ? The Citadel grapplers accumulated 78 points en route to a 23-9 victory over UNC Pembroke on Tuesday night in McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs won seven of the ten matches and secured 20 takedowns in their second dual meet victory of the season.
“It was great to see our guys executing the technique we drill in the practice room,” stated head wrestling coach Rob Hjerling.
True freshman Derek Sickel was the first one on the mat for the Cadets. The 174-pound Bulldog dominated the second and third periods racking up 13 points and over five minutes of riding time on his way to his first collegiate dual meet victory. The win gave The Citadel an early 4-0 lead.
Continuing his success in the new year, 184-pound Bulldog Darius Caldwell improved to 2-0 in dual meet action. The redshirt senior followed Sickel’s lead taking down UNC Pembroke’s Derek Garris five times accumulating almost five minutes of advantage time. The 15-2 win added four more points to The Citadel’s side of the scoreboard.
John Buck earned his ninth win of the season with a 6-2 victory over Timmy Allen. The redshirt senior took the 197-pound bout with a five point surge in the second period.
Taking the fourth match of the dual for the Bulldogs was redshirt junior Aaron Brown. The heavyweight grappler scored the only offensive points in the match with a 5-2 victory over Erik Stancil. The win gave The Citadel a 14-0 lead over the Braves.
The Braves had their two nationally ranked wrestlers up next at the 125- and 133-pound weight classes respectively. Sophomore Tyler Sim faced No. 7 ranked Joe Mavins in the 125-pound bout. Mavins secured the 11-5 win and put the Braves on the board. The 133-pound match-up featured junior Cadet Anthony Easter and No. 6 ranked Mike Nash. After seven minutes the bout was tied 1-1 sending it into the sudden victory period. Both grapplers were able to escape in the first round of tie-breaker periods, but Nash was able to tack on a last minute takedown for the 4-2 win. The nine-minute-match victory inched the Braves closer to the Bulldogs who led 14-6 going into the 141-pound match-up.
Redshirt sophomore Mike Fenton stepped in at the 141-pound weight class for The Citadel to take on Brandon Bradley. The Braves’ grappler was able to secure the win and three more team points for UNC Pembroke.
Derek Royster got the momentum going for the Bulldogs again with a 10-4 win over Dennis Fix. Royster’s four takedowns were the only offensive points scored in the 149-pound match.
Keith Koziel dominated the first period of his 157-pound match against Rashaad Saunders. The true freshman added three more team points to the board for The Citadel securing a 20-9 insurmountable lead.
Brendan Prince was the fourth Bulldog grappler to score the only offensive points in his respective match. The 165-pound bout was evenly matched as the dual was decided in the final 30 seconds with a takedown by the Cadets’ true freshman. The 4-2 decision added three final points to the board for The Citadel for a 23-9 final score.
The Bulldogs will host VMI and No. 19 nationally ranked Chattanooga in McAlister Field House next Tuesday, Jan. 22, as they look to take their first conference dual of the season. For complete coverage of Bulldog Wrestling, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
Results
The Citadel 23, UNC Pembroke 9
125: Joe Mavins (UNCP) dec. Tyler Sim (Cit), 11-5
133: Mike Nash (UNCP) dec. Anthony Easter (Cit), 4-2 (tb1)
141: Brandon Bradley (UNCP) dec. Mike Fenton (Cit), 8-2
149: Derek Royster (Cit) dec. Dennis Fix (UNCP), 10-4
157: Keith Koziel (Cit) dec. Rashaad Saunders (UNCP), 13-6
165: Brendan Prince (Cit) dec. J.J. Davis (UNCP), 4-3
174: Derek Sickel (Cit) maj. dec. John Clemmer (UNCP), 13-4
184: Darius Caldwell (Cit) maj. dec. Derek Garris (UNCP), 15-1
197: John Buck (Cit) dec. Timmy Allen (UNCP), 6-2
HWT: Aaron Brown (Cit) dec. Erik Stancil (UNCP), 5-2
Davidson 23, Gardner-Webb 25
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Davidson sophomore Carl Sandercock posted his second career pin, but two forfeits cost the Wildcats as they fell 25-23 to Gardner-Webb in their home opener at Belk Arena Tuesday night.
Sandercock pinned Josh Lowe in the first minute of his match at 149 to give the ?Cats a 15-4 team scoring advantage.
The Wildcats (1-3) took a 9-0 lead after the first two matches. Sophomore Ben Altman opened the meet by scoring a technical fall victory (15-0) at 125, and Vitaly Radsky followed with a major decision at 133 (13-3).
After Austin Reece scored a pin for the Bulldogs at 157, Wildcat junior Kevin Cook posted a 13-2 major decision at 165, which made the team score 19-10 in favor of the home squad.
But Gardner-Webb’s (3-3) Chad Davis got out to an early 3-0 lead against Trebor Clavette at 174, and the senior couldn’t work his way back. Trailing 3-1 entering the third period, Clavette got an escape to make the margin 3-2 but could not get the equalizer.
With the Wildcats leading 19-13, junior Sam O'Hair got a 10-0 major decision at 184 but could not get the pin the ?Cats needed to tie the match. Davidson forfeited the 197 and heavyweight classes.
The Wildcats take to the road for their next three matches, beginning Sunday, Jan. 20, with a tri-meet against UNC Greensboro and Virginia at UNCG. That will also serve as the SoCon opener for Davidson.
Gardner Webb 25, Davidson 23
125 ? Ben Altman (D) won by tech. fall over Tommy Bennett (G), 7:00 (15-0)
133 ? Vitaly Radsky (D) major dec. Matthew Featherston (G), 13-3
141 ?Charles Franz (G) major dec. Alex Radsky (D), 11-3
149 ? Carl Sandercock (D) pinned Josh Lowe (G), 0:54
157 ?Austin Reece (G) pinned Scott Matthews (D), 5:53
165 ? Kevin Cook (D) major dec. Randall Herring (G), 13-2
174 ? Chad Davis (G) decision Trebor Clavette (D), 3-2
184 ? Sam O’Hair (D) major dec. Matthias Piasecki (G), 10-0
197 ? Dustin Porter (G) wins by forfeit
HWT ? Evan Rhodes (G) wins by forfeit