March 21, 2002

ALBANY, N.Y. - Three members of the University of Virginia wrestling team began competition in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Pepsi Arena this afternoon. UVa's Tim Foley (Stafford, Va./Brooke Point), Jimi Massey (Williamsport, Md./Williamsport) and Ryan Painter (Rainelle, W.V./Rainelle) competed for the Cavaliers in the event. Foley (157 lbs.) recorded a 4-4 overtime victory, while Massey (184 lbs.) and Painter (HWT) dropped close first round decisions.

Foley turned in Virginia's first victory in the event when he recorded a 4-4 tie-break criteria win over Edinboro's Ryan Yates at 157. Foley will now advance to the second round to meet Pennsylvania's Yoshi Nakamura, the #2 seed at 157 pounds in the tournament. Nakamura was a 17-4 winner of Millersville's Jesse Reed in the first round.

UVa's Massey suffered an 11-8 setback to #11 seed Travis Pascoe from Nebraska at 184 and the Cavaliers' Painter was dealt a 4-2 loss after falling to #9 seed Paul Hynek from Northern Iowa in the heavyweight class. Massey and Painter will now advance to the consolation brackets in their respective weigh classes.

Foley and Massey advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning their respective weight classes at the 2002 Mat Jam Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships on March 9th. Painter finished runner-up at the ACC's and was granted a berth into the NCAA event as the conference's first alternate. Virginia's third ACC Champion, 133-pounder Joe Alexander (Franklin, N.J./Delsea Regional), was unable to compete at the NCAA's due to an injury.

The second session of the 2002 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will concluded at approximately 11:00 p.m. this evening before the tournament resumes action on Friday, March 22nd and again on Saturday, March 23rd. All of the events will be held at the Pepsi Arena.

2002 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships - UVa's Individual Results:

Wgt.	Opponents						Result
157	Tim Foley (UVa) def. Ryan Yates (Edinboro)			4-4 (OT)
184	Travis Pascoe (Nebraska) def. Jimi Massey (UVa)		11-8
HWT	Paul Hynek (Northern Iowa) def. Ryan Painter (UVa)		4-2	

-- UVa --