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)