Feb. 8, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - TarHeelBlue.com recently met with 141-pound wrestler Nick Stabile. Stabile, a redshirt freshman from Lenharstville, Pa. holds an 18-4 overall record on the season and is 10-2 in dual bouts. Stabile will face sixth-ranked Joe Caramanica of NC State Friday in Raleigh.

THB.com: You hold an excellent 18-4 record on the year thus far. What has been the key to your performance this season?
Stabile: The conditioning and training that I, as well as the team, have done throughout the year. Coach Mock, Coach Grant and Coach Driscoll have had us all prepared for everything this season. Training has been so much tougher than last year and the whole team has stepped up so far. Last year I redshirted, so I didn't have to watch my weight at all. This year, 141 pounds is pretty tough for me to make. So, I have been running and doing extra stuff every day. It has helped my conditioning.

THB.com: As a redshirt last season, you saw NC State take the ACC crown from the team. How has that served as a motivation for you, personally, even though you weren't wrestling with the team last year?
Stabile: I was there. The whole team was there. We all saw it. It kind of hurt seeing almost nine of their guys come out and be in the finals at ACCs. They took it by storm and ran away with it. I know our whole team has used it as motivation this whole year to keep pushing ourselves. Actually, Coach Mock gave us a speech today about not wanting to have that happen again. He reminded us how everyone saw them come out of nowhere last year and run away with it and this is our last chance to make a mark in the ACC - our last chances to make a statement.

THB.com: The ACC has been a tough conference for wrestling this season and the team has really held its own so far. What do you foresee the end of the season for the team going into the ACC Championship?
Stabile: The ACC in general has gotten so much tougher in the past two years. The recruiting classes have been amazing. It's becoming a much better conference in general. ACC wise, I feel like we had Maryland beat but lost a key match. Virginia, I actually feel like I lost us that one. I think we're the favorite going into the ACCs. When they see the brackets and seeing who is facing who, I personally think we're the frontrunners at this point. We're going to wrestle tough.

THB.com: Heading into the ACC regular season finale, what is the team doing to maintain focus and what are you doing since you're facing the most highly anticipated bout of the weekend facing sixth-ranked Caramanica?
Stabile: I love wrestling ranked guys. I'm pumped up when I get to face them. This weekend and next weekend I will wrestle two, one from NC State and one from Pitt. I am looking to remain focused and battle tough. Our team, after this weekend, is staring two-a-days almost every single day trying to get ready for ACCs.

THB.com: The team is a pretty young team but has shown maturity throughout the season. What are you expecting to see out of your teammates in the following weeks preceding the ACC Championships?
Stabile: Considering we're so young, we're just going to get better. We only have two guys on the whole team that are seniors and only Drew Forshey will be leaving us as a starter. Everyone on the team is pretty much a freshman or a sophomore. So, we should hopefully flourish greatly going into the ACC Championship and be on our peak performance going into it.

THB.com: Any overall thoughts on the season?
Stabile: I think we've had a great season, so far. Every match, other than Oklahoma, has been a close match. Maryland and Virginia, both, were close matches. So we have been right there with everyone. There have been just a few little differences. Hopefully we can iron them out before ACCs and be ready to go.

Stabile and the rest of the Tar Heels face NC State Friday in Raleigh. Carolina will then face a handful of non-conference opponents until the ACC Championships in March.