Nov. 17, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Purdue wrestling team opened its dual schedule with a 1-2 start at the second annual ACC/Big Ten Clash, hosted by the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Eddie Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Boilermakers toppled North Carolina State University (NCSU) 25-15, but fell to the University of Virginia (UVA), 16-15, and dropped a 22-16 defeat to host UNC.
Junior 174-pounder Nick Corpe led the Boilermakers as their only 3-0 grappler on the day, while junior tri-captain Mark Powell and freshmen Logan Brown, Matt Hemry and A.J. Kissel each posted a pair of wins. Kissel notched Purdue's lone pin of the afternoon, and he was one of three Boilermakers to score a major decision along with Powell and freshman Luke Manuel.
The day's opening match between Purdue and UVA went back and forth the whole way as the lead changed hands four times, but the Cavaliers came out on top, grabbing the one-point lead on the final match of the dual. UVA won the first three pairings of the match, building a 10-0 lead, but Purdue responded with wins at 149, 157, 165 and 174 pounds to move ahead 12-10. Powell earned the win at 149, while No. 19 junior Jake Murphy won at 157, No. 12 sophomore Justin Fraga secured a victory at 165 and Corpe bested his opponent at 174. Kissel nearly continued the run at 184 pounds, but fell just shy of topping 11th-ranked Rocco Caponi, 4-3, and the Cavs regained their advantage, 13-12. Brown put Purdue back on top at 197 with a hard-fought 7-6 come-from-behind win over No. 20 Brent Jones, but UVA heavyweight Calvin Cardillo proved too much for freshman Roger Vukobratovich and the Cavaliers escaped with the narrow win.
Purdue bounced back against NCSU, faltering a bit early, but winning five straight from 157-to-197 to seal up their first dual win of the season. Manuel tallied an 8-0 shutout major decision over NCSU's Williams Gileland to push the Boilers ahead, 13-9, and Kissel put it out of reach, 22-9, pinning Dane Coffee in 2:01 for his fifth fall of the year. Also grabbing victories in the run were Brown, Corpe and sophomore Sam Patacsil.
The host Tarheels used a near-impossible comeback to edge out the Boilermakers in the final match of the day, scoring pins in the last two matches to win 22-16. Hemry and fellow rookie Akif Eren won the first two bouts of the match, and Powell tacked on his major decision to make it 10-3 Purdue after four face-offs. UNC rallied with wins at 157 and 165 to even the count at 10-10, and the Boilermakers suffered a team penalty point after a heated bout at 165 to surrender the lead. Corpe put Purdue back in the driver seat, and Kissel followed with his second win of the day to make it 16-10. However, back-to-back pins allowed UNC to tie it up and then seal the win.
Purdue returns to action in two weeks at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas.