Gardner-Webb 35, Davidson 15
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Gardner-Webb won six of the first seven matches, including No. 30 Austin Trott’s seventh straight win and a pin by Alex Bennett, en route to a 35-15 win over Davidson College in Southern Conference action Wednesday evening.
Gardner-Webb (6-9, 2-2 SoCon) was awarded the first two matches at 125 and 133 pounds by forfeit, giving the Runnin’ Bulldogs a 12-0 advantage before Ryan Mosley pushed the lead to 17-0, dominating Davidson’s James McCord, 17-2, for a tech fall victory at 141 pounds.
Named SoCon Wrestler of the Week earlier in the day, Davidson 149-pounder Kevin Birmingham pinned GWU’s Tyler Ziegler in 3:51 for his sixth straight win, bringing his tally to a SoCon-best 11 pins on the season. Birmingham’s win got the Wildcats (4-7, 0-1 SoCon) on the board and cut the GWU lead to 17-6 before Cole Graves won by a 4-2 decision against Nick Pappayliou at 157 pounds to give Gardner-Webb a 20-6 lead.
Bennett added six points at 165 pounds, pinning Patrick Devlin in 6:42, before Trott pushed his streak to seven wins with a 15-8 decision against Nathaniel Powers at 174 pounds, giving the Runnin’ Bulldogs a 29-6 advantage.
Davidson closed the gap to 29-15 with Scott Patrick’s pin of Aaron Rabin in 4:08 at 184 pounds and Michael Moore’s 7-2 decision over Zach Bennett at 194 pounds before Justin Kozera pinned Ed Isola in 5:33 in the heavyweight bout to give Gardner-Webb the 35-15 victory.
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Sunday in the nation’s capital, traveling to Washington, D.C. to take on Columbia University at 10 a.m. and American University at 12 p.m.
Davidson will take a week off before returning to action Jan. 24 when it travels to Lexington, Va., to take on VMI in a 7 p.m. SoCon match.
Gardner-Webb 35, Davidson 15
125 – Phillip Anderson (GWU) by forfeit – 6-0
133 – Robbie Golde (GWU) by forfeit – 12-0
141 – Ryan Mosley (GWU) tech fall. James McCord (DC), 17-2 – 17-0
149 – Kevin Birmingham (DC) pinned Tyler Ziegler (GWU), 3:51 – 17-6
157 – Cole Graves (GWU) dec. Nick Pappayliou (DC), 4-2 – 20-6
165 – Alex Bennett (GWU) pinned Patrick Devlin (DC), 6:42 – 26-6
174 – No. 30 Austin Trott (GWU) dec. Nathaniel Powers (DC), 15-8 – 29-6
184 – Scott Patrick (DC) pinned Aaron Rabin (GWU), 4:08 – 29-12
197 – Michael Moore (DC) dec. Zach Bennett (GWU), 7-2 – 29-15
HWT – Justin Kozera (GWU) pinned Ed Isola (DC), 5:33 – 35-15