March 9, 2002

The Duke University wrestling team wrapped up its season with a fifth place finish at the ACC Championships. Two Blue Devil wrestlers, Tommy Hoang and Mike Mitchell, received at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament beginning March 14 in Albany, N.Y.

Mike Mitchell (Midwest City, Okla.) opened the tournament with an 8-3 decision over Don Carlo-Clauss (Virginia), setting up a championship match with 16th-ranked Pierre Pryor. The Duke sophomore, 25-12 on the season, fell to Pryor, 9-7, in the bid for an automatic NCAA berth.

At 197-lbs., Daegan Smith (Washington, D.C.) delivered a 17-6 major decision win over Bob Vorhies (Maryland) to reach the championship match. Smith, 23-13 overall, lost to Jason Gore (N.C. State) 8-3 in the championship match.

Junior Tommy Hoang (Cushing, Okla.), a NCAA qualifier last year, lost to George Cintron (N.C. State) for the second time this season at 125-lbs. Hoang secured third place with a win by fall versus Mike Lupa (Maryland) in 3:40 for his 22 win of the year.

Senior Luke Palmisano (Massapequa, N.Y.) won a close 4-3 decision over Adam James (Maryland) at 149-lbs., before falling to John Giamoni (N.C. State) in the semifinals, 11-5. In the third place match, Palmisano bested James for the second time, this time by a 5-4 margin.

Stuart Holzer (Valley Stream, N.Y.) earned a 7-6 decision over Clarence Davis in the opening round at 133-lbs, avenging one of his two ACC losses this season. The junior went on to fall in the semifinals to Evan Sola (North Carolina), 11-2 and in the consolation finals 8-6 in overtime.

Senior Matt Hoover (Swedesboro, N.J.) dropped an 11-5 decision to Dustin Kawa in the opening round at 174-lbs., before reaching the consolation finals with a 3-1 decision over Mike Reid of Maryland. In the battle for third place, Hoover fell to Brian Muir (Virginia) in overtime.

Heavyweight Levi Karnehm (Dayton, Ohio), 157-pounder Jason Fink (Aurora, Ohio) and senior Harry Clarke (Atlanta, Ga.) and Frank Cornely (Pennsauken, N.J.) were each eliminated after two matches.

FINAL TEAM SCORES 1. North Carolina State University (83) *Atlantic Coast Conference Champions* 2. University of North Carolina (72.5) 3. University of Virginia (66) 4. University of Maryland (59.5) 5. Duke University (36.5)