March 17, 2006

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Junior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky won his first two bouts Friday but fell one victory short of All-America honors on the second day of the 2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Ford Center. After a 3-2 mark at nationals, Nadolsky completes his season with a 42-7 overall record.

Seeded 11th in his class, Nadolsky opened Friday's action with a 6-3 victory over Wyoming's Dusty Hoffschneider in consolation round three and followed with a 3-2 victory over Indiana's Dave Herman in the fourth round of consols. Nadolsky picked up a first period takedown and tacked on an escape to start the third to secure the win.

In his first match of the evening session, Nadolsky took Ohio State's Kirk Nail to overtime but dropped a 4-2 decision, falling just short of the final eight and All-America honors. With 42 victories on the season, Nadolsky is now third on the Tar Heels' single-season win list behind Rob Koll (47) and Al Palacio (44).

Junior David Dashiell was eliminated following a 3-1 loss to Boise State's Casey Phelps in the third round of the consolation bracket. Dashiell carried a 1-0 lead into the third period but Phelps scored an escape and a takedown for the 3-1 victory. After a 1-2 mark at NCAAs, Dashiell wraps up his junior season with a career-best 33 wins against just 13 losses.

Senior Garrett Atkinson was pinned by Missouri's Matt Pell at the 2:10 mark and was eliminated in the consolation bracket. A two-time ACC champion at 165 pounds, Atkinson's final campaign at Carolina ends with a 17-11 overall record after a 1-2 mark at nationals.

Next season, Carolina returns nine of its 10 starters from the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference championship squad, as well of five of its six NCAA qualifiers. Head coach C.D. Mock has guided the Tar Heels to back-to-back conference titles and coached 10 wrestlers to nationals over the last two seasons.