March 4, 2000

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of North Carolina won its fourth straight Atlantic Coast Conference Championship with four individual champions to score 91 points, outlasting NC State who finished second with 79 points and three champions in Cole Field House. Virginia finished third with 59.5, Maryland was fourth at 59 and Duke rounded out the five teams with a score of 21.5.

At 125, North Carolina's Skyler Holman opened the tournament finals by pinning Virginia senior Steve Garland at 2:16 in the much-anticipated showdown of top 10 wrestlers. Holman, No. 7 by Intermat, flipped Garland, No. 5 in the middle of the first period holding him on his back for the quick pin. Holman was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

At 133, Maryland sophomore Brandon York defended his title by holding on to a 2-1 advantage over North Carolina's Brad Byers for most of the third period, then putting a desperate Byers on his back with 10 seconds remaining for a 6-1 margin.

At 141, Virginia's P.J. Bory, who received the No. 4 seed in the bracket, upset his way through the day and held off a late charge by Maryland's Mark Mansueto to win 6-4.

At 149, NC State's Tommy Davis won his second consecutive title (141-pound champion last year) with a sudden death tie-breaker against Virginia's John Pozniak for a 5-4 advantage.

At 157, Davis' teammate Scott Garren recorded a pin in the semifinals and then continued his hot streak by taking a 5-0 first period advantage over Marylandâs Rob Booth in the championship match. He went on to win 10-2.

NC State's Joel Dramis, at 165, wrapped up the Wolfpack's third straight title by defeating a banged-up Josh Weidman from Maryland. The Terrapin wrestler already with a bandage wrapped around his head-clawed throughout the entire match, but fell short in the final minute, 5-2. Weidman had won 10 straight matches leading up to the finals.

At 174, an emotion-filled Corey Bell of Carolina defeated another defending champion, NC State's Kevin Boross with a 12-2 major decision for his second ACC title.

At 184, Ryan McGrath of Virginia won the most critical match of the evening, securing third place for his Cavaliers and erasing NC State's hopes for the team title.

Clint Osborn at 197 and heavyweight Matt Kenny posted back-to-back wins at the end.

ACC Finals:

Team Scores:

1. N. Carolina    91
2. NC State       79
3. Virginia       59.5
4. Maryland       59
5. Duke           21.5

Virginia Results:

125
W   Steve Garland (UVa) def. Matt Pandullo (Maryland)   MD 10-0
    ACC (3/4)
L   Skyler Holman (UNC) def. Steve Garland (UVa)        Fall @ 2:16
    ACC (3/4)

133
L   Sean Meakim (Duke) def. Toby MacDonald (UVa)        4-2
    ACC (3/4)
L   Les Carroll (NCSU) def. Toby MasDonald (UVa)        3-1
    ACC (3/4)

141
W   P.J. Bory (UVa) def. Jason LaMota (UNC)             4-3
    ACC (3/4)
W   P.J. Bory (UVa) def. Mark Mansueto (Maryland)       3-2 adv.
    ACC (3/4)

149
W   John Pozniak (UVa) def. Grant Newman (Maryland)     8-3
    ACC (3/4)
L   Tommy Davis (NCSU) def. John Pozniak (UVa)          5-4 TB
    ACC (3/4)

157
L   Rob Booth (Maryland) def. Don Carlo-Clauss (UVa)    3-1
    ACC (3/4)
W   Don Carlo-Clauss (UVa) def. Dennis Landin (UNC)     8-6
    ACC (3/4)


165
L   Joel Dramis (NCSU) def. Brian Muir (UVa)           10-3
    ACC (3/4)
L   Mike Mitchell (Duke) def. Brian Muir (UVa)          4-1
    ACC (3/4)


174
L   Mike Tomaino (Maryland) def. Steve Mazzola (UVa)   10-8
    ACC (3/4)
L   Matt Hoover (Duke) def. Steve Mazzola (UVa)         5-1
    ACC (3/4)

184
W   Ryan McGrath (UVa) def. Mark Reid (Maryland)    MD 10-2
    ACC (3/4)
W   Ryan McGrath (UVa) def. Tom Cass (Duke)             8-2
    ACC (3/4)
W   Ryan McGrath (UVa) def. Zach Breitanbach (NCSU)     7-5
    ACC (3/4)

197
L   Clint Osborn (UNC) def. Jimi Massey (UVa)           6-5
    ACC (3/4)
L   Bob Vorhies (Maryland) def. Jimi Massey (UVa)   MD 10-2
    ACC (3/4)

HWT
W   Ryan Painter (UVa) def. Jeremy Duncan (Maryland)    7-6
    ACC (3/4)
L   Matt Kenney (UNC) def. Ryan Painter (UVa)       MD 17-7
    ACC (3/4)