North Carolina
NCAA Championships
Tar Heels Stand 33rd After Day One of NCAA Wrestling Championship
March 20, 2003 | Wrestling
March 20, 2003
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The University of North Carolina wrestling team ended day one of the NCAA Championship in 33rd place after scoring four points in Kemper Arena. Sophomores Chris Rodrigues (Marietta, Ga.) and Evan Sola (Wernersville, Pa.) advanced to the second round at 125 and 133 pounds before falling in the seoond round and dropping into the consolation bracket. Oklahoma State leads the championship scoring 33 points, while two-time defending champion Minnesota stands in fourth scoring 20.5 points.
Rodrigues defeated Hofstra's Pat Flynn, 5-3, in the first round of the tournament to face sixth-seeded Bo Maynes (Oklahoma) in a rematch from the NWCA All-Star Classic. Maynes downed Rodrigues for the second time this year 5-1. Rodrigues will compete against the winner of Ryan McClester (Citadel) and Jared Opfer (Kent State) in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Sola upended fourth-seeded Witt Durden (Oklahoma) at 133 pounds by a 6-2 decision in the first round of the championship. In the second round, Sola fell by a 5-2 decision to Clarion's Red Martinez. Sola will face the winner of 10th-seeded Richard Laforge (Hofstra) and Jesse Brock (Boise State) in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Senior Christopher DiGuiseppe (Holland, Pa.) dropped his opening match of the championship at 157 pounds against seventh-seeded Derek Zinck (Lehigh) by pinfall, 5:45. DiGuiseppe will face the winner of 10th-seeded Derek Jenkins (Rider) and George Carter (Bloomsburg) in the consolation round.
Senior 165-pounder Jimmy O'Connor (Woodbine, Md.) fell to Purdue's Oscar Santiago 8-1 in the opening round of NCAAs. O'Connor takes on Boston's Leighton Brady in the first round of the consolation bracket.
Sophomore Mark Canty (Gahanna, Ohio) fell to fifth-seeded Tyler Nixt (Iowa) 16-8 in the first round of the 174-pound bracket. Canty will go up against Cornell's Tyler Baiser in the opening round of the consolation bracket.
Fourth-seeded Scott Barker (Missouri) spoiled sophomore Dustin Heist's (Meadville, Pa.) first NCAA Championship with a 13-2 major decision. Heist drops down to the consolation bracket where he will face Ohio State's Casey Kaputska.
Freshman David Dashiell (Chesapeake, Va.) fell by a major decision to 12th-seeded Morgan Horner (Lockhaven) to fall down to the consolation bracket at 197 pounds. Dashiell will wrestle against Central Michigan's Brett Faustman.
Duke and NC State are tied for 36th place with three points, while Maryland and Virginia are tied for 44th with two points to round out the Atlantic Coast Conference competitors. Sessions III and IV will start Thursday, March 21 at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. EST.
Players Mentioned
