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April 27, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia assistant wrestling coach Pat McNamara has accepted an assistant wrestling coaching position at the University of Missouri after serving on the UVa wrestling staff for the past two years. McNamara was an integral part of the success the Cavaliers experienced the past two years and assisted UVa head wrestling coach Lenny Bernstein during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time here at the University of Virginia,” said McNamara. “It’s was a great opportunity to work in UVa’s athletic department and to work for such a great head coach in Lenny Bernstein. It’s also been an honor for me to work with all of the guys on the Virginia wrestling team the past two years.”

McNamara helped guide Virginia to a mark of 16-18 overall, 4-5 in the ACC during his two years on the UVa coaching staff. In his first season with the Cavaliers (2003-04), he helped UVa finish 10-7 overall, 3-1 in the conference and was integral in the development of Virginia’s Scott Moore and Tim Foley as the duo became just the eighth and ninth Cavaliers to achieve All-American status at UVa. He also helped assist Virginia in its 16th place finish at Nationals in 2003-04. McNamara aided in the development of Paul Bjorlo, Moore and Foley becoming ACC Champions over the past two years. In all, four Cavaliers (Bjorlo, Moore, Foley and Rocco Caponi) went on the compete at Nationals under McNamara’s assistance in his two years on the UVa coaching staff.

“I’m definitely excited to have the chance to work at the University of Missouri,” said McNamara. “There are a lot of positive for me to go to Missouri. It’s in the Big XII Conference which is a major conference for wrestling, Missouri has a great wrestling program and Columbia is also closer to my hometown.”

“Pat has been a great assistant coach while he has been here at Virginia,” said UVa head wrestling coach Lenny Bernstein. “This past year, he had a big impact on recruiting and he has been involved with every aspect of the wrestling program including fund raising, game day coaching decisions and individual wrestling workouts with many of our student-athletes. I will certainly miss his principled approach to coaching and I truly believe that his next move will be a head coaching position. The move to Missouri was a tough one for him, but it’s closer to home and a chance for him to coach in the Big XII. I wish him a lot of luck. Our loss is Missouri’s gain.”

Prior to arriving in Charlottesville, McNamara spent two years at Central Michigan University working towards his master’s degree in sports administration and serving as a graduate assistant for CMU head wrestling coach Tom Borrelli. In 2002-03 McNamara helped guide the Chippewas to a record of 13-3 overall, 4-1 in the Mid-American Conference, and to a first place finish in the MAC Championships. CMU had seven NCAA qualifiers advance to Nationals from its 2002-03 squad.

McNamara, a 2001 graduate of Michigan State, was a three-time All-America wrestler at MSU (2001, 2000, 1998) and compiled an impressive record of 108-28 overall, 49-16 in the Big Ten Conference. He just missed becoming a four-time All-America selection after falling one victory short of the prestigious feat during the 1998-99 season as a Spartan. McNamara qualified for the NCAA Championships every season he competed at Michigan State and won a Big Ten Conference title as a sophomore. He placed fifth at the NCAA Championships as a freshman, took sixth at NCAAs as a junior and senior and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals as a sophomore. McNamara won an individual title at the Big Ten Championships as a sophomore and finished runner-up as a senior. He placed third as a senior and fourth as a freshman.

McNamara was ranked number one in the nation at 133 during the 1999-2000 season before competing in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Star Meet. He posted an overall record of 33-9 as a freshman (at 126-pounds) before going 33-8 (sophomore), 15-6 (junior) and 27-5 (senior) his last three seasons at Michigan State at 133 pounds.

— UVa —

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