De La Riva, Four Others Grab Place-Winner Laurels At Newberry Open
NEWBERRY, S.C. – James De La Riva toughed out a 3-2 win over teammate Chris Giddens in the championship bout of the 285-pound tournament to clinch his first career tournament championship and highlight action for 17th-ranked UNCP at the Newberry Open on Saturday afternoon in Eleazer Arena.
Four other UNCP wrestlers grabbed top-4 finishes at the event as well. Giddens and Jake Ferguson (174 pounds) each walked away with second place finishes in their respective tournaments, while K.D. Dixon and Curt Jones earned third and fourth place honors, respectively, in the 157-pound tournament. Jones booked a hard-fought 7-6 decision in the opening match of the day for both wrestlers, but Dixon got even with a 9-6 decision over Jones in the consolation championship.
Dixon, De La Riva and Jones each tallied four wins on the day, while Ferguson and Giddens each grabbed a trio of victories.
UNCP (6-4) will return to action on Tuesday evening when the Braves suit up to host No. 2 Newberry (15-1) in a 7 p.m. dual meet inside the English E. Jones Center. Admission is free.
2012 NEWBERRY OPEN (UNCP Results Only)
157
Mitchell Judkins (Lindsey Wilson) dec. Ryan Renck (UNCP-Unatt.) D 8-1
Curt Jones (UNCP) dec. K.D. Dixon (UNCP) D 7-6
Brennin Adkins (Limestone-Unatt.) dec. Curt Jones (UNCP) D 5-2
Curt Jones (UNCP) pinned Jake Scott (Cumberland) F 1:46
Curt Jones (UNCP) dec. Corey Burress (The Citadel) SV 9-7
Curt Jones (UNCP) dec. Brandon Wilkins (Belmont Abbey) D 8-6
K.D. Dixon (UNCP) dec. Sam McCauley (The Citadel-Unatt.) D 8-6
K.D. Dixon (UNCP) dec. Ryan Renck (UNCP-Unatt.) D 8-4
K.D. Dixon (UNCP) dec. Brennin Adkins (Limestone-Unatt.) D 5-1
K.D. Dixon (UNCP) dec. Curt Jones (UNCP) D 9-6
174
Jake Ferguson (UNCP-Unatt.) pinned Ridge White (UNCP) F 0:46
Jake Ferguson (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Nick Sasfy (Cumberland) D 5-3
Jake Ferguson (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Zach Bennett (The Citadel-Unatt.) D 9-6
Joe Pittman (Nebraska-Unatt.) dec. Jake Ferguson (UNCP-Unatt.) D 8-3
Bryan Glace (Anderson) inj. def. Ridge White (UNCP) M For
Kyle Keoppen (Newberry-Unatt.) dec. Xavier Najar (UNCP-Unatt.) D 7-5
Cadyn McKeeth (Lindsey Wilson) maj. dec. Xavier Najar (UNCP-Unatt.) M 8-0
184
Brach Walker (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Andrew Hairston (Lindsey Wilson) D 7-5
Brach Walker (UNCP-Unatt.) pinned Nic Shappee (Limestone-Unatt.) F 6:57
Jared Holliday (Newberry) pinned Brach Walker (UNCP-Unatt.) F 4:46
Luke Johnson (The Citadel) inj. def. Stuart Nadeau (UNCP-Unatt.) M For; 1:03
Jared Michael (The Citadel-Unatt.) inj. def. Stuart Nadeau (UNCP-Unatt.) M For
285
Chris Giddens (UNCP) inj. def. Christopher Sayers (Limestone-Unatt.) M For; 3:32
Chris Giddens (UNCP) dec. Brian Newman (Newberry) SV 3-1
Chris Giddens (UNCP) dec. Andre Ewers (Shorter) D 4-2
James De La Riva (UNCP) dec. Matt Wade (Newberry) D 5-2
James De La Riva (UNCP) dec. Teddy Furnish (Lindsey Wilson) TB1 2-1
James De La Riva (UNCP) dec. Johnathon Hupp (Lindsey Wilson) D 5-2
James De La Riva (UNCP) dec. Chris Giddens (UNCP) D 3-2
