HUSKERS DOMINATE NO. 21 NORTH CAROLINA, 30-3

Chapel Hill, N.C.--A well-rounded group of performances aided the sixth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team to a dominating 30-3 win over No. 21 North Carolina Saturday evening at UNC's Smith Center.

The Huskers (16-3), who won all but one match in the dual, have a seven-meet win streak heading into the final two dual meets of the season. The Tar Heels dropped to 9-4 for the season.

Sixth-ranked junior Paul Gomez (17-2, 14-2) earned an upset win, sophomore Charles McTorry (11-15, 6-13) recorded a technical fall and senior Scott Munson (23-8, 15-6) notched a major decision to aid the Husker cause.

At 125 pounds, Gomez upended fifth-ranked Chuckie Connor, who had a 30-2 record entering the meet. The Gomez win snapped a 12-match Connor winning streak, and also marked the first time this season that Connor lost a dual match. Gomez finished a stellar weekend of competition with two wins over top five opponents. Gomez upset Oklahoma's Shane Valdez last Thursday to aid the Huskers to an 18-17 win over the Sooners.

"Paul had a great weekend of wrestling," Nebraska Head Coach Tim Neumann said. "The experience he gained from wins over two top five guys is going to help down the road."

The 174-pound McTorry started the meet with a 19-4 technical fall win over Jamie Groudle at the 5:57 mark. Munson, ranked 10th in the nation, followed two matches later with a 13-3 major decision win over Ty Roofner.

Fifteenth-ranked Todd Beckerman (17-13, 12-9) downed No. 20 Brad Byers, 7-4, at 133 pounds, while seventh-ranked Bryan Snyder (25-2, 17-2), eighth-ranked Brad Vering (18-6, 12-4), eighth-ranked J.R. Plienis (21-9, 16-5) and 13th-ranked Jose DeAnda (23-5, 14-5) all picked up wins against unranked opponents. Snyder is now just five wins away from joining an elite group of five Huskers who have recorded 30 or more wins during their freshmen campaigns.

Nebraska's lone loss of the evening came in the meet's seventh match. Ninth-ranked Tar Heel JohnMark Bentley (27-4, 10-1) handed 13th-ranked Joe Henson (17-6) just his fourth dual loss of the year, 8-2.

"The guys wrestled terrific the whole weekend," Neumann said. "We are wrestling extremely well right now. Hopefully that will carry over into the final meets of the season."

The Huskers have two regular season duals remaining. NU hosts Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 14, at 2 p.m. CST in the Bob Devaney Sports Center before traveling to Missouri for a dual on Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. CST. #6 NEBRASKA 30, #21 NORTH CAROLINA 3
174--Charles McTorry (11-15), NU tech. fall Jamie Groudle (19-11), UNC 19-4 (5:57)
NU 5, UNC 0

184--#8/#7 Brad Vering (18-6), NU dec. Corey Bell (22-9), UNC 4-3
NU 8, UNC 0

197--#10/#12 Scott Munson (23-8), NU maj. dec. Ty Roofner (19-13), UNC 13-3
NU 12, UNC 0

Hwt.--#8/#10 J.R. Plienis (21-9), NU dec. Matt Kenny (18-8), UNC 3-2
NU 15, UNC 0

125--#6/#6 Paul Gomez (16-2, 13-2), NU dec. #5 Chuckie Connor (30-3), UNC 7-2
NU 18, UNC 0

133--#15/#17 Todd Beckerman (17-13, 12-9), NU dec. #20 Brad Byers (25-11), UNC 7-4
NU 21, UNC 0

141--#13/#12 Jose DeAnda (23-5, 14-4), NU dec. Josh Cowley (20-13), UNC 12-5
NU 24, UNC 0

149--#9/#10 JohnMark Bentley (27-4), UNC dec. #13/#12 Joe Henson (17-6), NU 8-2
NU 24, UNC 3

157--#7/#8 Bryan Snyder (25-2, 17-2), NU Pat Cadwallader (20-12), UNC 10-4
NU 27, UNC 3

165--Josh Henson (12-10, 5-10), NU dec. Dan Calhoun (23-10), UNC 3-2
NU 30, UNC 3