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UNCG falls to Liberty on Wednesday, 24-16
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG's Ivan Lopouchanski scored a second-period pin against Peter Crawford of Liberty to cut the Spartans' deficit down to 9-6, but it wasn't enough as Liberty won five of the first six bouts to snap UNCG's three-match winning streak, 24-16, in Fleming Gymnasium on Wednesday afternoon.
The loss was UNCG first since Jan. 7, dropping the Spartans to 5-8 in duals this season. Liberty climbed to 8-6 overall with the win.
Liberty's Robert Jillard and UNCG's Manny Ramirez squared off at the 125-pound weight class to start the afternoon. The bout would be knotted up at 2 when Jillard was scored a reverse and never relinquished the lead, taking the first bout 4-3, and giving Liberty a 3-0 lead.
UNCG's Robert Gribschaw didn't fare much better as he fell victim to the Flames' T.J. Mitchell, 8-2, in the 133-pound bout.
Trailing 6-0, coach Jason Loukides called on Jamel Johnson to put the Spartans on the board. Liberty's Seth Hicks had a different idea, as he gained more than a minute of riding time to break a 6-all tie after 7 minutes of wrestling. Hicks squeaked out a 7-6 win and gave Liberty a 9-0 lead.
At 141 pounds, No. 17 Ivan Lopouchanski continued his winning ways by scoring seven takedowns over Liberty's Peter Crawford. Lopouchanski controlled the bout from the whistle and used a ball-and-chain tilt to pin Crawford after 3 minutes, 55 seconds.
Down 9-6, freshman Justin Rice took the mat against the Flames' Julian Colon. Colon overwhelmed Rice with multiple takedowns and eventually pinned Rice with 35 seconds remaining in the bout.
Liberty's Chad Porter was flawless against UNCG's Brett Miller (165 pounds) scoring a takedown and accumulating four minutes of riding time. Porter would win the bout, 5-0, and give Liberty its largest lead of the match, 18-6.
At 174 pounds, Byron Sigmon, UNCG's active wins leader, found himself in a see-saw battle with Liberty's Royal Brettrager. Sigmon trailed by two before scoring a quick reversal and collecting a near fall to win, 11-9.
UNCG's Elijah Adams and Liberty's Aaron Kelley went into the second period of the 184-pound bout before Kelley used a swift reversal and collected a pin after 3:30 of wrestling.
With Kelley's pin of Adams, Liberty secured a win, but Caylor Williams (197) and Peter Sturgeon (285) buckled down and collected wins, 9-0 and 3-1, respectively.
UNCG returns to the mat when it faces SoCon rival Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon. The first bout is scheduled for 2 p.m.
AGATE
Liberty 24, UNCG 16
125 Robert Jillard (LU) dec. Manny Ramirez (UNCG), 4-3
133 T.J. Mitchell (LU) dec. Robert Gribschaw (UNCG), 8-2
141 Seth Hicks (LU) dec. Jamel Johnson (UNCG), 7-6
149 Ivan Lopouchanski (UNCG) fall Peter Crawford (LU), 3:55
157 Julian Colon (LU) fall Justin Rice (UNCG), 6:25
165 Chad Porter (LU) dec. Brett Miller (UNCG), 5-0
174 Byron Sigmon (UNCG) dec. Royal Brettrager (LU), 11-9
184 Aaron Kelley (LU) fall Elijah Adams (UNCG), 3:30
197 Caylor Williams (UNCG) maj. dec. Aaron Thompson (LU), 9-0
HWT Peter Sturgeon (UNCG) dec. Josh Pelletier (LU), 3-1
- UNCG -
