North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Wrestling Set For Road Doubleheader
2/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 12, 2003
RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State wrestling team will look to get back on the winning track this weekend when it hits the road and takes on a pair of opponents from the Commonwealth State.
The Wolfpack, 5-8 overall and 1-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, will take on the Cavaliers at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 15, in Charlottesville, and then will travel down I-64 and up I-81 to Harrisonburg to wrestle James Madison at 7 p.m.
"This is a very big weekend for us," Wolfpack coach Bob Guzzo said. "The Virginia match in particular is a conference match and will have a bearing on the seedings for the conference tournament."
UVa is 8-5 overall and 1-0 in the ACC, with a 20-17 victory over North Carolina to its credit. NC State is coming off of a 22-12 loss to the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill on Tuesday night, and has lost twice to North Carolina. The Cavaliers have won four matches in a row.
Junior 157-pounder Tim Foley, ranked 16th nationally, leads Virginia with a 31-7 overall record, and senior heavyweight Josh Etu (21-5), senior 174/184-pounder Brian Muir (20-15) and freshman 125-pounder Brian Sticca (24-10) all have had excellent campaigns for the Cavs.
JMU comes into action on Friday having lost three in a row. The Dukes are 4-10 overall. Senior 184-pounder Dave Colabella at 22-8 has been their top wrestler this season, but senior 141-pounder Pat Diaz (16-7), junior 197-pounder Steve Kodish (18-11), junior 174-pounder Jeremy Rankin (12-3) and junior 157-pounder Brian Consolvo (15-13) all have made their mark this season.
NC State comes into action this weekend looking to gets its starting lineup on the mat all at the same time, and get more consistent performances from several key contributors. The best news for the Wolfpack in the loss at UNC was the return to action of Scott Garren, who now is 11-0 and ranked 14th nationally at 157, but has been in and out of the lineup with injuries. Garren defeated UNC's Garrett Atkinson 9-4, but the suspense was gone from the proceedings by that point. North Carolina won the first six matches, including a pin and a major decision, to take a 22-0 lead. The Wolfpack won the final four bouts, but it was too little, too late.
Heading into action this weekend, with Garren back in the lineup, the Wolfpack will be solid at five spots in the lineup. Despite dropping a tiebreaker loss to North Carolina's Chris Rodrigues, the Wolfpack's George Cintron is at the top of his game at 125. A senior and two-time defending ACC champion, Cintron is 14-5 on the season and had won 11 matches in a row before the loss to Rodrigues.
At 149, defending ACC champion Jake Giamoni is 13-8, has won six matches in a row and eight of his last nine. At 165, junior Dustin Kawa has won 12 straight and is 16-3 overall, 12-1 since dropping down from 174. And Garren, despite his battles with injuries, has been outstanding all season.
The next key for NC State will be to get sophomore 174-pounder Kevin Gabrielson back in action. Gabrielson (7-6 overall and 3-3 at 174) has a possible torn tendon in his left thumb and may be out until the ACC Tournament on March 8.
Two other veterans, junior 141-pounder Ryan McCallum (11-12) and junior 184-pounder Jon Godwin (8-11) have wrestled better as the season has gone along. McCallum has won three of his last four bouts, including a pair of pins. Godwin has lost his last three matches, although he has wrestled well against stiff competition during that losing streak, including a 5-3 loss to Lehigh's 11th-ranked Travis Frick. Godwin has won six of his last 11 matches, and had won four in a row prior to his current slide.
"Our top-line guys are all wrestling very well right now," Guzzo said. "I couldn't ask for any more of them. We've battled some injuries, and we've had some young guys out there who don't have any experience, and we've hit some bumps in the road, but I really feel that as a team we've gotten better every week. We just need to get healthy and continue to get better, and be ready for the conference tournament in March."
