NC State Repeats As Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Champions

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Bruce Winkworth (NC State)
03/09/2002


RALEIGH, N.C. ¯ NC State won five individual championships, including three  head-to-head matchups with runner-up North Carolina in the finals, and rolled to  the team championship at the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships  on Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum.    Dustin Kawa's 3-2 victory over UNC's Mark Canty was the match that clinched the  championship for the Wolfpack, which repeated as conference champions for the  first time since winning four championships in a row from 1988-91. The Wolfpack  won five individual championships for the first time since winning five in 1983.  The last time an NC State team won more than five individual titles was in 1982,  when it won six, which is the school record.    The Wolfpack won the championship with 83 team points, followed by North  Carolina in second place with 72.5, Virginia third with 66, Maryland fourth with  59.5, and Duke fifth with 36.5.    Junior 125-pounder George Cintron, who was named the tournament's Outstanding  Wrestler, got the Wolfpack off to a good start in the championship round with a  thrilling 3-1 overtime win over North Carolina's Chris Rodrigues. Cintron, was  the defending ACC champion at 125, advanced to the finals with a 20-6 major  decision over Maryland's Mike Lupa and a 9-2 win over Duke's Tommy Huang in the  semifinals.    Virginia's Joe Alexander upset top-seeded Evan Sola of North Carolina 5-4 and  Maryland's Brandon York won his fourth ACC championship at 141 with a 6-2  decision over Virginia's Bob Seidel. NC State was on center stage after that,  wrestling in five of the next six championship bouts and winning four of them.  Jake Giamoni was up first and won a 5-1 decision over UNC's Mike Booth, giving  the Wolfpack two titles in as many attempts, both over the Tar Heels.    Virginia's Tim Foley broke the Wolfpack winning streak with a 5-3 decision over  Dave Miller at 157, but Pierre Pryor won his third consecutive ACC championship  with a 9-7 decision over Duke's Mike Mitchell at 165, and Dustin Kawa won a 3-2  decision over North Carolina's Mark Canty. That made it three-for-three against  the Tar Heels in the finals for the Wolfpack.    Virginia's Jimi Massey pulled Virginia's second big upset of the finals with an  easy 9-3 win over Maryland's Jake Stork. Jason Gore gave NC State its fifth  individual champion with an 8-3 win over Duke's Daegan Smith at 197 pounds.  North Carolina's Matt Kenny defeated Virginia's Ryan Painter 6-1 at heavyweight  for his fourth ACC championship.    The following seven wrestlers have been chosen by the league's coaches to  be at-large representatives at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament, March 21-23  at Albany, N.Y.  Chris Rodrigues, 125, North Carolina  Evan Sola, 133, North Carolina  Brad Byers, 141, North Carolina  Mike Mitchell, 165, Duke  Mark Canty, 174, North Carolina  Jake Stork, 184, Maryland  Tommy Huang, 125, Duke      2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships  Championship Round Results  125 ¯ George Cintron (NCS) dec. Chris Rodrigues (UNC), 3-1, OT  133 ¯ Joe Alexander (UVa) dec. Evan Sola (UNC), 5-4  141 ¯ Brandon York (Md) dec. Bob Seidel (UVa), 6-2  149 ¯ Jake Giamoni (NCS) dec. Mike booth (UNC), 5-1  157 ¯ Tim Foley (UVa) dec. Dave Miller (NCS), 5-3  165 ¯ Pierre Pryor (NCS) dec. Mike Mitchell (DU), 9-7  174 ¯ Dustin Kawa (NCS) dec. Mark Canty (UNC), 3-2  184 ¯ Jimi Massey (UVa) dec. Jake Stork (Md), 9-3  197 ¯ Jason Gore (NCS) dec. Daegan Smith (DU), 8-3  Hwt ¯ Matt Kenny (UNC) dec. Ryan Painter (UVa)