Virginia Wrestling Places Third in 2002 Mat Jam ACC Championships

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March 9, 2002

RALEIGH, N.C. – The University of Virginia wrestling team competed in the 2002 Mat Jam which featured the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships at Reynolds Coliseum on the campus North Carolina State University. The Mat Jam Tournament was also host to the 2002 Southern Conference Championships. Virginia finished third as a team with 66 points in the event as UVa’s Joe Alexander (Franklin, N.J./Delsea Regional), Tim Foley (Stafford, Va./Brooke Point) and Jimi Massey (Williamsport, Md./Williamsport) each won their respective weight classes and were named ACC Champions. The trio will advance to compete in the 2002 NCAA Championships in Albany, N.Y. on March 21-23. Alexander and Massey will be making their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships, while Foley will be making his first trip to Nationals. The Cavaliers’ Bob Seidel (Wall, N.J./Wall) and Ryan Painter (Rainelle, W.V./Rainelle) finished runner-up at 141 and in the heavyweight class, respectively.

N.C. State won the championship with 83 team points, followed by North Carolina in second place with 72.5, Virginia in third with 66, Maryland in fourth with 59.5 and Duke fifth with 36.5.

N.C. 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. 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.

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 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 Seidel. N.C. 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 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 Massey pulled UVa’s second big upset of the finals with an easy 9-3 win over Maryland’s Jake Stork. Jason Gore gave N.C. 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 Painter 6-1 at heavyweight for his fourth ACC championship.

Virginia’s Alexander, Foley and Massey will travel to Albany, N.Y. to compete in the 2002 NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 21-23 at the Pepsi Arena.

2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships Round Results

125 - George Cintron (NCS) dec. Chris Rodrigues (UNC), 3-1, OT133 - Joe Alexander (UVa) dec. Evan Sola (UNC), 5-4141 - Brandon York (Md) dec. Bob Seidel (UVa), 6-2149 - Jake Giamoni (NCS) dec. Mike booth (UNC), 5-1157 - Tim Foley (UVa) dec. Dave Miller (NCS), 5-3165 - Pierre Pryor (NCS) dec. Mike Mitchell (DU), 9-7174 - Dustin Kawa (NCS) dec. Mark Canty (UNC), 3-2184 - Jimi Massey (UVa) dec. Jake Stork (Md), 9-3197 - Jason Gore (NCS) dec. Daegan Smith (DU), 8-3Hwt - Matt Kenny (UNC) dec. Ryan Painter (UVa) 6-1

2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships Team Scores

Pl.	School		Points1.  	N.C. State	832	North Carolina	72.53.	Virginia		664.	Maryland	59.55.	Duke		36.5

2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships – Virginia Individual Results

Wgt.	Opponents					Result

125L C. Rodrigues (UNC) def. Byron Dunlap (UVa) Inj. Def.L M. Lupa (Maryland) def. Byron Dunlap (UVa) Inj. Def.

133W Joe Alexander (UVa) def. J. Guzzio (Maryland) 4-2W Joe Alexander (UVa) def. E Sola (UNC) 5-4

141W Bob Seidel (UVa) def. B. Byers (UNC) Fall @ 2:25L B. York (Maryland) def. Bob Seidel (UVa) 6-2

149L M. Booth (UNC) def, Paul Dunstan (UVa) 5-3L A. James (Maryland) def. Paul Dunstan (UVa) 5-4

157W Tim Foley (UVa) def. J. O’Conner (UNC) 8-2W Tim Foley (UVa) def. D. Miller (NCSU) 5-3

165L M. Mitchell (Duke) def. Don Carlo-Clauss (UVa) 8-3W Don Carlo-Clauss (UVa) def. C. Diguiseppe (UNC) 3-1L J. Weidman (Maryland) def. Don Carlo-Clauss (UVa) Fall @ 2:12

174W Brian Muir (UVa) def. M. Reid (Maryland) 11-6L M. Canty (UNC) def. Brian Muir (UVa) 5-3W Brian Muir (UVa) def. M. Hoover 3-3 (OT)

184W Jimi Massey (UVa) def. K. Gabrielson (NCSU) Fall @ 3:30W Jimi Massey (UVa) def. N. Richmond (UNC) 6-3W Jimi Massey (UVa) def. J. Stork (Maryland) 9-3

197L B. Vorhies (Maryland) def. Andrew DeMartino (UVa) 3-2L V. July (UNC) def. Andrew DeMartino (UVa) 4-2

HWTW Ryan Painter (UVa) def. N. Collins (NCSU) 5-4L M. Kenny (UNC) def. Ryan Painter (UVa) 6-1

— UVa —