Virginia 27, UNC Greensboro 13; Rutgers 25, UNC Greensboro 16
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA ? UNC Greensboro dropped a pair of non-conference wrestling matches on Saturday afternoon at the University of Virginia. The Spartans lost to Virginia, 27-13, and fell to Rutgers, 25-16.
UNCG was led by Mitchell Johnson and Joe Sheffield, who each won both of their matches on the day. The Spartans jumped out to an early 10-0 lead against Virginia behind a 13-2 major decision by Johnson and a forfeit. The Cavaliers went on to win the next seven matches before Sheffield recorded a 3-1 decision over Calvin Cardillo in the final match.
Johnson got the Spartans started off on the right foot against Rutgers as well by scoring an 11-5 decision over Mike Demarco. Chris Bencivenga put UNCG back in the lead with a 6-3 decision against Trevor Melde at 141 pounds. Rutgers then went on to win the next four matches to give the Scarlet Knights a 25-6 lead. Ryan Sughrue, Jeremy Cannon and Joe Sheffield won the final three matches for the Spartans, but it wasn't enough to overcome the large deficit and UNCG fell 25-16.
The Spartans will return to SoCon action next weekend as they host Chattanooga on Sunday at 1 pm in a battle for first place in the Southern Conference.
AGATE
Virginia 27, UNC Greensboro 13
125: Mitchell Johnson (UNCG) major dec. Wyatt Anderson (UVa), 13-2; UVa 0, UNCG 4
133: Casey Boyle (UNCG) wins by forfeit; UVa 0, UNCG 10
141: No. 20 Nick Nelson (UVa) dec. Chris Bencivenga (UNCG); UVa 3, UNCG 10
149: Peter Ferrara (UVa) pinned Ben Wilmore (UNCG), 5:34; UVa 9, UNCG 10
157: No. 20 Jedd Moore (UVa) dec. Andrew Saunders (UNCG), 11-4; UVa 12, UNCG 10
165: Mike Sewell (UVa) major dec. Victor Hojilla (UNCG), 18-5; UVa 16, UNCG 10
174: No. 10 Chris Henrich (UVa) tech fall Brett Miller (UNCG), 17-2; UVa 21, UNCG 10
184: No. 17 Rocco Caponi (UVa) dec. Mikal McKee (UNCG), 5-4; UVa 24, UNCG 10
197: No. 19 Brent Jones (UVa) dec. Jeremy Cannon (UNCG), 15-9; UVa 27, UNCG 10
285: Joe Sheffield (UNCG) dec. Calvin Cardillo (UVa), 3-1; UVa 27, UNCG 13
Rutgers 25, UNC Greensboro 16
125: Mitchell Johnson (UNCG) dec. Mike Demarco (RU), 11-5; RU 0, UNCG 3
133: Brian Bollette (RU) dec. Casey Boyle (UNCG), 3-0; RU 3, UNCG 3
141: Chris Bencivenga (UNCG) dec. Trevor Melde (RU), 6-1; RU 3, UNCG 6
149: David Greenwald (RU) pinned Ben Wilmore (UNCG), 1:16; RU 9, UNCG 6
157: No. 15 Scott Winston (RU) pinned Andrew Saunders (UNCG), 1:14; RU 15, UNCG 6
165: Matt Pletcher (RU) major dec. Victor Hojilla (UNCG), 10-0; RU 19, UNCG 6
174: Mike Whalen (RU) pinned Brett Miller (UNCG), 3:48; RU 25, UNCG 6
184: Ryan Sughrue (UNCG) dec. McPaul Ogbanna (RU), 7-4; RU 25, UNCG 9
197: Jeremy Cannon (UNCG) dec. Karim Mahmoud (RU), 5-3; RU 25, UNCG 12
285: Joe Sheffield (UNCG) major dec. Sean DeDeyn (RU), 9-1; RU 25, UNCG 16