North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Wrestling Prepares For ACC Tournament
3/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 4, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - The college wrestling season gets serious this week with the start of conference tournament in preparation for the NCAA postseason. For the NC State wrestling team, that means the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament this Saturday, March 6, at Charlottesville, Va.
The Wolfpack, which finished atop the regular-season standings in the conference with a 4-1 mark, 9-6 overall, will be one of three probable favorites, along with Duke and Virginia, the host team. The Pack defeated the Blue Devils 18-12 on February 24, but lost to the Cavaliers 22-21 on February 14 at Reynolds Coliseum.
NC State finished in first place in the regular season for the third time in the last five years, and will be attempting to win its third ACC Tournament championship in the last four years. The Wolfpack will pin its hopes on a trio of senior two-time individual champions, each of whom will be the defending champion in his weight classes.
Jake Giamoni is 16-6 at 149 this season. He was the conference champion at that weight the last two years, and will be the prohibitive favorite to make it three in a row this season.
At 157, Scott Garren is 13-2 this season, 31-4 the last two years, and 67-17 for his career. Garren won the conference championship at 157 as a true freshman in 2000, but tore five knee ligaments as a sophomore the following seasons and did not participate in the ACC Tournament in 2001 or 2002. He returned a year ago and reclaimed his championship, and will be heavily favored to repeat in 2004. Ranked 15th in the latest intermat.com poll, Garren has not lost to an ACC opponent since 2001, and has never lost an ACC match at 157.
At 165, Dustin Kawa went 14-5 this season. He won the conference championship at 165 a year ago, and was conference champ at 174 as a sophomore in 2002. Kawa's only conference loss this season was to 14th-ranked Tim Foley of Virginia, who will be the top seed at 165 and a slight favorite to dethrone Kawa.
At 141, junior Alex Hernandez had a strong first season after transferring from junior college. Hernandez posted a 16-10 record to lead the team in victories. He won five matches by fall, and went 4-1 in the conference, losing only to No. 1-ranked Scott Moore of Virginia.
Beyond its four upperclassmen, NC State has a corps of youngsters who got better and better as the season went along, led by freshman 197-pounder Zach Garren, Scott's brother. Zach went 14-11 at 197 this season, but won eight of his last 10 matches, including a 3-1 decision over North Carolina's Venroy July. Garren and July will be the top two seeds at 197, not necessarily in that order.
At 125, redshirt-freshman Jeremy Hartrum went 11-7 this season after sitting out the fall semester. Hartrum went 5-2 vs. ACC competition and won six of his last nine matches.
Redshirt-sophomore Daniel Humphries - 12-13 for the season, 3-4 in the ACC - was hampered by injuries late in the season, but was 3-1 in the conference at one point and is capable of scoring major points in the tournament.
Heavyweight Jainor Palma, a true freshman, went 9-15 this season, but was 3-2 in the conference, losing only to UNC's Ryan Adams, who will be the top seed in the tournament.
In college wrestling, individual wrestlers advance to the NCAA Tournament individually, not as a team. In the ACC, the 10 classification champions will automatically qualify, and the conference will get four at-large bids. The NCAA Tournament will be held March 18-20 in St. Louis, Mo.
