Wolfpack Concludes Regular Season With Home Bout vs. Duke: NC State concludes what to this point has been a very successful regular season this evening with a home Atlantic Coast Conference bout vs. Duke. A victory over the Blue Devils will give the Wolfpack a 4-1 ACC record and a share of first place in the final conference standings. At 11-7 overall heading into tonight's bout, the Pack is shooting for its second 12-win season in a row, which will mark the first time NC State has posted back-to-back seasons with 12 or more dual-match victories since 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Farewell To Davis, Breitenbach, Ledbetter: Three NC State seniors will make their final appearance in Reynolds Coliseum this evening. Reuben Ledbetter (Olin, N.C.), a backup in the middleweight classifications, has not wrestled this season, but Tommy Davis (Newark, Del.) and Zach Breitenbach (Cary, N.C.) are wrestling for the final time at Reynolds tonight.
Davis and Breitenbach both have had distinguished careers with the Wolfpack. Davis, 12-3 on the season, enters tonight's action with a 71-21 career record and needs just six more wins to break into NC State's top 10 for career victories. His only three losses this season came to opponents ranked in the national top 10, and he has lost just six times in his career to unranked opponents. Davis, a two-time defending conference champion, has won 25 of his last 30 matches, dating back to last season.
Breitenbach has been NC State's best wrestler this season after moving up a classification, from 184 to 197, to start the season. An Academic All-American and a Phi Beta Kappa selection, Breitenbach enters action tonight with a 23-4 overall record and has won a career-high 14 matches in a row. He currently is ranked eighth nationally by Intermat. He has a career record of 64-34, and is 43-14 the last two years.
Career-Best Winning Streaks: Three NC State wrestlers enter action tonight riding winning streaks that are the longest of their respective careers.
Senior Zach Breitenbach (23-4 at 197) has won his last 14 matches * a career high * 16 of his last 17, and 19 of his last 21. Until a 9-7 win over Navy's Mike Biggrig on February 10, Breitenbach had won five in a row by either major decision or technical fall. He is currently ranked 8th nationally by Intermat and 14th by Amateur Wrestling News. He leads the team with two techincal falls, and ranks second with six major decisions.
At 125, redshirt sophomore George Cintron is 19-6 on the season after a slow start and has won nine in a row * a career high * 13 of his last 14, and 16 of his last 18. Cintron has a team high 8-0 record in matches decided by major decision. He has a 33-13 career record.
At 157, redshirt-junior Pierre Pryor is 18-3 on the season and has won 13 in a row, also a career high. Pryor, the 1999 ACC champion at 157, has won 15 of his last 16 matches, and 22 of his last 25 dating back to last season. Pryor also has won his last 11 matches against Atlantic Coast Conference competition. Ten of Pryor's 18 victories this season have been by fall or major decision.
Beating Ranked Opponents: So far this season, the Wolfpack has faced 27 ranked individual opponents and defeated seven of them, the team's best mark vs. ranked wrestlers in several years. The Pack was 4-30 vs. ranked opponents a year ago, and 9-37 in 1999.
Leading the way vs. ranked opponents this season has been senior 197-pounder Zach Breitenbach (3-3) and Scott Garren (2-1). A year ago, no NC State wrestlers had more than one win against ranked opponents, and only Pierre Pryor, at 1-0, has a winning record against ranked foes.
Breitenbach Named ACC Wrestler of the Week For Second Time: For the second time in three weeks, NC State senior 197-pounder Zach Breitenbach was named the ACC Wrestler of the Week the week of January 29 through February 4. Breitenbach, currently ranked 9th nationally by Intermat and 14th by Amateur Wrestling News, scored heavy team points for the Wolfpack in its doubleheader sweep over Virginia and James Madison on January 27, picking up a 17-1 technical fall over Virginia's Zach Freday in the afternoon bout, and then winning a 13-2 major decision over James Madison's Steve Kodish that evening. Breitenbach, 20-4 on the season, now has won 11 in a row, the last five by either major decision or technical fall.
Milestones: Senior Tommy Davis (149 pounds) picked up his 70th career victory February 10 at Navy. Davis needs just six more wins to break into NC State's top 10 list for career victories * Senior Zach Breitenbach (197) picked up his 20th win of the season on February 3 with a 10-1 thrashing of Appalachian State's Geoff McIntosh. Breitenbach currently is 23-4 for the season and now has won 20 matches for the second season in a row. He went 20-10 a year ago * Breitenbach picked up his 60th career win on January 31 with a 16-0 technical fall over Campbell's Jason Greenawalt. Breitenbach joined Tommy Davis as the only active NC State wrestlers with at least 60 career wins * George Cintron's 5-3 win over Appalachian State's Rich Caisse was the 30th of his career.
NC State's Recent 20-Bout Winners: With 23 wins already to his credit, senior 197-pounder Zach Breitenbach has an outside chance of becoming just the 11th wrestler in school history to record 30 wins in a season, and the first since Sylvester Terkay went 41-0 in 1992-93. With his 10-1 win over Geoff McIntosh of Appalachian State on February 3, Breitenbach became the first NC State wrestler to record 20 wins in back-to-back seasons since Tommy Davis in 1997-98 and 1998-99. Davis went 20-8 as a freshman at 126 in 1998, and then went 23-6 at 141 in 1999. Prior to Davis, the last NC State wrestler to post consecutive 20-match wins was Mike Miller in 1994-95 and 1995-96. Miller went 29-4 in 1994-95 and then followed that up with a 27-6 mark in 1995-96. Breitenbach, 19-4 this season, went 20-10 a year ago.
Sophomore 165-pounder Scott Garren joined Breitenbach in the 20-win circle this season when he defeated North Carolina's Jason Williams 5-2 on February 15. George Cintron (19-6 at 125) goes for his 20th victory tonight against Duke, and Pierre Pryor (18-3 at 157) can reach 20 wins at next weekend's ACC Tournament. If Cintron and Pryor join Breitenbach and Garren, they would give NC State four wrestlers with 20 wins in the same season for the first time since 1994-95, when Mike Miller (29-4), Wayne Jackson (22-9), Troy Charney (23-8) and Kirk Stehman (24-8) all won 20 matches.
George Cintron, 125, So., Wellington, Fla.
19-6 in 2001, 33-13 career.
Has a 5-2 career mark vs. ACC opponents.
Has had two winning streaks this season of at least four matches, including his current winning streak of nine, which is a career high * The first four-match streak came during the Duke Duals and the NC State Duals.
Has won nine straight, and 13 of his last 14 matches, with the one loss at the hands of 17th-ranked Ryan Escobar of Illinois.
Has won 16 of his last 18 matches, dating back to the Lehigh Duals in December.
Is 1-2 vs. ranked wrestlers.
Ryan McCallum, 133, Fr., Reading, Pa.
10-9 with 2 falls in 2001.
Is 1-3 vs. ACC opponents.
Clinched the Wolfpack's 19-16 win at North Carolina on February 15 with a clutch 5-2 win over Brad Byers, a tested veteran, in the final match of the evening.
Has won three of his last four matches.
Pinned Appalachian State's Travis Drake at the 2:34 mark on February 3.
Lost to 20th-ranked Brandon York of Maryland 6-1 on January 20, his first college match against a ranked wreslter.
Snapped a four-match losing streak on January 27 with a 7-2 win over Dalton Head of James Madison.
Won a career-high six straight matches prior to the four-match losing streak.
Struggled against tough competition early, dropping four of his first five matches at the Navy Invitational and the Lehigh Duals.
Oraefo Brown, 141, So. Miami, Fla.
7-10 in 2001, 18-23 with 1 fall career.
Has a 7-2 career mark vs. ACC competition.
Has won four of his last eight matches after starting the year at 3-6.
Won three in a row earlier in the year, one shy of his career-best winning streak of four matches.
Tommy Davis, 149, Sr., Newark, Del.
12-3 in 2001, 71-21 career.
Has a career winning percentage of .772.
Has a 21-6 career mark vs. ACC opposition.
Two-time ACC champion: (141 pounds in 1999), (149 pounds in 2000)
Had a six-match winning streak broken February 15 by North Carolina's JohnMark Bentley, who picked up the 3-2 decision.
Had won his last six matches before the Bentley match, with four of the six wins by major decision.
Has never lost three matches in a row, and has lost two in a row only twice, once this season and once in February 1999.
All three losses this season came to national top 10 wrestlers (#1 Adam Tirapelle of Illinois, and two vs. #7 JohnMark Bentley of UNC) * Has lost only six times in his career to unranked wrestlers, and just twice since his freshman season.
Has won 25 of his last 30 matches dating back to last season, including a career-best 12-match winning streak last season * Had winning streaks of nine and 10 matches earlier in his career.
His first loss to UNC's Bentley this season, on January 16 in Reynolds Coliseum, was his first to an ACC foe in two years, snapping a streak of 12 consecutive wins vs. ACC opponents.
Needs six wins to crack the NC State career top 10 for victories.
Pierre Pryor, 157, R-Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.
18-3 with 4 falls in 2001, 58-22 with 17 falls career.
Has a 14-4 career record vs. ACC opposition.
The 1999 ACC champion at 157.
Received a medical hardship last season after fracturing his wrist the first day of the season.
Has now won a career-high 13 matches in a row * Previous longest streak was seven in a row over the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, winning all four matches a year ago and his first three this season.
Has won 15 of his last 16 matches * Has won 22 of his last 25 matches, including seven first-period falls and five major decisions, dating back to the beginning of the 1999-2000 season.
Ten of his 18 wins this season have been by fall or major decision.
Has won his last 11 matches vs. ACC competition.
Currently ranks ninth in school history with 17 career pins.
Scott Garren, 165, So., Paulsboro, N.J.
Season is likely over after suffering a serious knee injury February 15 at North Carolina* Is expeected to undergo knee surgery and could be out of action for up to 12 months.
Finished the 2001 season at 20-7 with 3 falls; 36-13 with 7 falls career.
Is 7-2 lifetime vs. the ACC.
The defending ACC champion at 157.
Was ranked 18th nationally by Intermat.
Is the Wolfpack's second 20-match winner this season, and won 20 for the first time in his career.
Had a five-match winning streak snapped January 20 at Maryland, his first-ever ACC loss.
Won five in a row three times this season, including his streak of five straight wins to end the season * Career-longest winning streak was seven matches a year ago.
Was 2-1 vs. ranked opponents this season, with both victories coming against wrestlers ranked in the top 10.
Had three falls, one technical fall and four major decisions to his credit in 2001.
Won 10 of his last 12 matches, and 15 of his last 19.
Dustin Kawa, 174, R-Fr., Lithonia, Ga.
13-11 with 2 falls in 2001.
Has a 3-2 record vs. ACC opponents.
NC State's first-ever high school national champion.
Has won five of his last eight matches, and nine of his last 14.
Picked up his third career pin on February 21 with a 4:50 fall over UNC-Greensboro's Terry Garbis.
Won a career-high four in a row during the Duke Duals and the NC State Duals, including a pin and a major decision.
Zach Breitenbach, 197, Sr. Cary, N.C.
23-4 with 1 fall in 2001, 64-34 with 4 falls career.
Has a 15-4 career record vs. ACC opponents.
Academic All-American and ACC Honor Roll
Ranked 8th nationally by Intermat, and 13th by Amateur Wrestling News.
Is 3-3 this season vs. ranked opponents.
Has won 14 matches in a row, a career high * Previous longest winning streak was five matches, which he did once a year ago.
Won five in a row by either major decisions or technical fall before beating Navy's Mike Bigrigg 9-7 on February 10.
Six of his last eight victories have been by major decision or technical fall.
Has won 16 of his last 17 matches, 19 of his last 21, and 37 of his last 47 matches, dating back to the 1999 Lehigh Invitational.
Has suffered back-to-back losses just three times in the last two seasons, and just once in 2000-01.
Has a 43-14 mark over the last two seasons.
Was named ACC Wrestler of the Week the week of January 6-13, and again the week of January 20-27.
Ricky Fowler, Hwt., Fr., Columbus, Ga.
4-4 in 2001.
Is 2-2 career vs. ACC opponents.
A member of the Wolfpack football team * Started the last four games of the season at defensive tackle as a true freshman.
