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BLACKSBURG - Five Hokies earned bonus points as the 23rd-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling team won seven matches and defeated North Carolina, 29-12, in its final Atlantic Coast Conference dual match at Cassell Coliseum Sunday afternoon. Tech earned three major decisions, a technical fall and a pin from Zach Neibert.

Action began at 157 pounds with a good bout as No. 19 Corey Mock established an early lead on Tech’s Cameron Hurd with a takedown and two back points. Hurd answered with two reversals in the second period and another in the third and had Mock on the ropes for much of final period, nearly scoring a defensive pin, but Mock held on for the 8-6 decision. No. 8 Pete Yates answered with a 9-0 major decision over Kyle Kiss at 165 pounds. Yates earned a takedown, two back points and another takedown while riding the UNC man out for a majority of the first and second periods en route to the win.

Chris Moon led throughout and extended the Hokie lead to 7-3 with a 6-1 decision over Alex Utley at 174 pounds. However, UNC’s Thomas Ferguson responded for the Tar Heels at 184 pounds with an 8-2 decision over John Dickson.

Zac Bennett kept the Tar Heel momentum going with a pin at 2:51 over Tech’s Nick Vetterlein at 197 pounds. With the fall, UNC regained the lead at 12-7. At heavyweight, Chris Penny picked up the Hokies’ second major decision of the day as he defeated Frank Abbondanza by an 11-3 margin.

Tech’s Ty Mitch was dominant at 125 pounds as he scored eight takedowns and racked up over four minutes of riding time in defeating Josh Craig by a 17-6 major decision, which gave Tech lead for good at 15-12. Top-ranked Devin Carter took on former Hokie Brock LiVorio at 133 pounds and cruised to a 22-7 technical fall, ending things with a final takedown at 6:17. Carter now has four tech falls on the season.

In a swing match at 141 pounds, two ranked wrestlers took to the mat as No. 20 Neibert took on No. 18 Evan Henderson of North Carolina. But the Hokie redshirt sophomore controlled from the start as he scored two three-point nearfalls in the first period and pinned Henderson at 4:39. Neibert’s pin was his second of the season and it sealed the match for Tech, giving the Hokies a 26-12 lead. Tech’s Nick Brascetta put a cap on the day for the Hokies as he tallied a takedown with five seconds left to rally and defeat Jon Burns, 4-3 at 149 pounds.

A season-high crowd of 2,422 saw Tech improve to 6-3 overall and complete its ACC dual season with a 4-1 record. North Carolina falls to 2-11 and 1-2 in the ACC.

The Hokies, ranked No. 23 in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches’ Poll will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Norman, Okla., to take on No. 11 Oklahoma at 8 p.m. EST. Tech then returns to Blacksburg for its final home dual of the season next Sunday against No. 25 Old Dominion at 6 p.m. on Senior Night.

#23 Virginia Tech (6-3, 4-1 ACC) 29, North Carolina (2-11, 1-2 ACC) 12
157: #19 Corey Mock (UNC) dec. Cameron Hurd, 8-6
165: #8 Pete Yates (VT) maj. dec. Kyle Kiss, 9-0
174: Chris Moon (VT) dec. Alex Utley, 6-1
184: Thomas Ferguson (UNC) dec. John Dickson, 8-2
197: Zac Bennett (UNC) fall Nick Vetterlein, 2:51
285: Chris Penny (VT) maj. dec. Frank Abbondanza, 11-3
125: Ty Mitch (VT) maj. dec. Josh Craig, 17-6
133: #1 Devin Carter (VT) tech. fall Brock LiVorio, 22-7 (6:17)
141: #20 Zach Neibert (VT) fall #18 Evan Henderson, 4:39
149: Nick Brascetta (VT) dec. Jon Burns, 4-3

For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).