No. 6 Braves Back On Track With Rout Of St. Andrews
LAURINBURG – St. Andrews used a forfeit win in the opening match of the night, as well as an injury default win at 174 pounds, to register its most points in the series, but sixth-ranked UNCP responded by taking seven of the remaining eight matches to post a 32-15 win over the Knights in college wrestling action at Harris Court on Friday evening.
The win kept UNCP (12-3) unbeaten in its five-match-old series with St. Andrews (3-12) who had its two-match winning skein snapped with the setback as well. The point total (15) for the Knights more than doubled its combined point total in its previous four matchups (7) with the Black and Gold.
St. Andrews took a quick 6-0 lead on the scoreboard on UNCP's forfeit at 125 pounds, but the Braves quickly responded with three-straight victories with bonus points to erase any doubt of the final outcome. Timdarius Thurston tallied a 22-7 win by technical fall in the 133-pound bout, before Tyquan Easton registered a 14-6 major decision over Matt Fletcher in the 141-pound match to give the Braves a lead they would never relinquish.
Pembroke would grab three more wins with bonus points on the night, including first-period pins by both Brendon-Parker Risk (149 pounds) and Shane Nolan (197 pounds), to fuel the rout. All-American and top-ranked Mike Williams won by a 23-6 major decision at 165 pounds to provide the other bonus points for the visitors.
The Braves will be back in action again on Tuesday when they trek to Newberry, S.C., to battle fourth-ranked Newberry (15-3-1) inside Eleazer Arena. Wrestling action is set to get underway at 7:30 p.m.
#6 UNCP 32, St. Andrews 15
125: Eric Brown (SAPC) forfeit No Entry (UNCP)
133: Timdarius Thurston (UNCP) tech. fall Sterling Perry (SAPC) TF 22-7; 5:30
141: Tyquan Easton (UNCP) maj. dec. Matt Fletcher (SAPC) M 14-6
149: Brendon Parker-Risk (UNCP) pinned Ranson Lee (SAPC) F 0:22
157: Chris Foy (UNCP) dec. Troy Baranik (SAPC) D 12-6
165: No. 1 Mike Williams (UNCP) tech. fall Caleb Mitcler (SAPC) TF 23-6; 5:30
174: Richard Manwarren (SAPC) inj. def. Dennis Fix (UNCP) D 6-0
184: Shiheem Bryant (UNCP) dec. Greg Pattis (SAPC) D 8-3
197: Shane Nolan (UNCP) pinned Josh Price (SAPC) F 1:33
285: Justin Hoover (SAPC) dec. Seth Stewart (UNCP) D 3-2
Starting Weight: 125
Records: UNCP 12-3; St. Andrews 3-12