No. 25 Wrestling Advances To Title Match At Virginia Duals

HAMPTON, Va. – UNC Pembroke dropped its first two matches of the day to dig itself an early hole, but the 25th-ranked Braves won seven of the final eight individual bouts to post a 28-13 win over Ferrum and advance to Saturday evening's championship match at the Virginia Duals.

The triumph marked the fourth-straight dual meet victory for the Braves (5-4) – their longest winning skein since capturing each of the first six dual meets of the 2010-11 campaign. The Black & Gold will battle NCAA Division III foe Stevens Tech (6-2) Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m. inside Hampton Coliseum. The Ducks were an 18-15 winner over Limestone on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers used a forfeit win at 125 pounds, as well as a 16-6 major decision from Justin Zimmerman at 133 pounds, to build an early 9-0 advantage, but the Braves would have nothing to do with the early deficit. UNCP climbed to within a point on the team scoreboard with wins in the next two bouts – a first-period pin (2:35) by fourth-ranked Daniel Ownbey (141 pounds) and a 15-10 decision by Eric Milks (149) – before taking the lead for good on Justin Pencook's 15-4 major decision at 157 pounds.

Reggie Allen (165) and Ridge White both turned in decisions to extend UNCP's lead out to 19-10, while Blaze Shade dealt the clinching blow with a second-period pin (4:17) of Corbin Ramos at 184 pounds. Stuart Nadeau registered a 13-6 win over Darreus McCrea at 197 pounds, but the Panthers took the final match of the afternoon with Tate Dulany's 5-3 decision over UNCP newcomer Danny Berrier in the heavyweight bout.

No. 25 UNC Pembroke 28, Ferrum 13
125: Robert Cunningham (FC) forfeit No Entry (UNCP) For
133: Justin Zimmerman (FC) maj. dec. Cole Murray (UNCP) M 16-6
141: No. 4 Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) pinned Logan Meister (FC) F 2:35
149: Eric Milks (UNCP) dec. Joshua Lancaster (FC) D 15-10
157: Justin Pencook (UNCP) maj. dec. Daniel Reynolds (FC) M 15-4
165: Reggie Allen (UNCP) dec. Hubert Alston (FC) D 6-5
174: Ridge White (UNCP) dec. Thomas Smith (FC) D 8-4
184: Blaze Shade (UNCP) pinned Corbin Ramos (FC) F 4:17
197: Stuart Nadeau (UNCP) dec. Darreus McCrea (FC) D 13-6
285: Tate Dulany (FC) dec. Danny Berrier (UNCP) D 5-3
Starting Weight: 125
Records: Ferrum 2-2; UNC Pembroke 5-4