BOILING SPRINGS --- Gardner-Webb fell to Chattanooga and North Carolina in a pair of dual matches on Friday evening, as Chattanooga defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs, 26-12, before the Tar Heels rallied for a 22-8 victory in the second match of the evening in Paul Porter Arena.
With the win, Chattanooga improves to 6-5 overall and 1-0 in Southern Conference action, as Gardner-Webb falls to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in league action following the two losses. North Carolina moves to 4-3 overall with the victory.
Chattanooga 26, Gardner-Webb 12
The Mocs' Sean Boyle opened the match with a 7-0 victory over Cortez Starkes at 125 pounds, before Nick Soto defeated Tyler Ziegler, 14-7, at 133 pounds to give Chattanooga a 7-0 lead. Mike Pongracz followed with a pin of Ryan Hull, ending the bout 1:36 into the second round to put the Mocs up 13-0.
Ryan Mosley earned the Runnin' Bulldogs' first points of the bout at 149 pounds, defeating Shawn Greev, 5-2, before UTC's Austin Sams edged Tyler Marinelli, 10-8, to give Chattanooga a 16-3 advantage. Gardner-Webb's Austin Trott wasted little time at 165, pinning Justin Lampe just 1:10 into the match to cut the Mocs' lead to 16-9.
Brett Stein continued the push for Gardner-Webb at 174, edging Levi Clemmons, 9-8, to further trim the margin to 16-12. Chattanooga's John Schrader answered with a 2-0 decision against Gray Jones, putting the Mocs up, 19-12, before Scottie Boykin registered a 14-9 decision against Boyce Cornwell at 197 pounds to push the lead to 22-12.
A 9-1 major decision by Jared Johnson over Justin Kozera capped the match and gave Chattanooga the final margin of 26-12.
North Carolina 22, Gardner-Webb 8
Starkes opened the second match of the night with three points for the Runnin' Bulldogs, defeating Alexander Rinaldi, 5-2, before Troy Heilmann registered an 8-0 major decision against Ziegler to give the Tars Heels a narrow 4-3 advantage.
Matt Williams followed with an 11-9 decision against Hull at 141 pounds, before Mosley outlasted Christian Barber, 3-2, in a double overtime bout at 149 pounds to cut the lead to 7-6. North Carolina's Chris Mears pushed the margin back to four at 10-6 with a 3-1 decision against Marinelli at 157 pounds.
UNC stretched the lead to 13-5 in the 165-pound bout, as Ethan Ramos registered a 9-4 decision against Trott, after which Gardner-Webb was docked a point for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Tar Heels' John M. Staudenmayer widened the gap further to 16-5 with a 6-2 decision against Stein at 174 pounds, before Scott Marmoll defeated Kyle Ash, 8-1, at 184.
Chip Ness and Frank Abbondanza followed with identical 6-1 decisions against Jones and Kozera at 197 and 285, respectively, to give North Carolina the final margin of 22-8.
Gardner-Webb returns to the mat on Thursday, January 22 when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Buies Creek, N.C. for a 7:00 pm SoCon matchup with Campbell.
