Tar Heel Wrestlers Seek ACC Title Saturday
March 6, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - An 18th conference title for North Carolina and individual berths to this year's nationals will be on the line Saturday for the Tar Heels at the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships at Maryland's Comcast Center in College Park, Md. Action will begin at noon with the finals set for 8 p.m. Junior Keegan Mueller, who is rated as the nation's No. 9 wrestler at 165 pounds, will lead the Tar Heel effort. He carries a 26-3 overall record into this year's event and went 5-0 in ACC matches this season. A winner of 20 straight bouts, Mueller has not lost since a 9-5 decision to then-No. 3 Pat Pitsch of Arizona State at the Cliff Keen Invitational Nov. 30. He is a perfect 16-0 in dual matches and has won 10 of his last 11 bouts by major decision, technical fall or pin. Mueller has three pins, five technical falls and six major decisions on the season. Joining Mueller in the national rankings is classmate Justin Dobies, who checks in at No. 20. He matches Mueller's unbeaten mark in ACC action and is 26-6 on the season with team-bests of six pins and seven major decisions. Both Mueller and Dobies are in search of their first ACC titles. Senior Drew Forshey, who has been out since early February with an ankle injury, is slated to return to the lineup at 125 pounds. The 2005 ACC champion at 125, Forshey is 13-8 on the season and went 3-1 in league action. Additionally, junior 149-pounder Vincent Ramirez is coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes, while sophomore Dennis Drury was a third-place finisher at 197 a year ago.
Sophomore Danny Lopes (133), redshirt freshmen Nick Stabile (141) and Thomas Scotton (157) and true freshmen Kyle Kiss (174) and Nick Tenpenny (184) will be making their ACC Championships debuts Saturday. The winners of each weight class Saturday will earn automatic berths to the 2008 NCAA Championships, which are scheduled for March 20-22 in St. Louis. NORTH CAROLINA'S ACC LINEUP |
