ALBANY, N.Y. - Three members of the University of Virginia wrestling team represented Virginia and competed in the 2002 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Pepsi Arena. The trio of 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. Through two days of competition and four sessions of action, Massey went 3-2 and Foley finished 2-2 in the tournament, while Painter went 0-2 in the event.

UVa's Massey suffered an 11-8 setback to #11 seed Travis Pascoe from Nebraska at 184 in the first round. However, Massey bounced back in his next match in the consolation bracket and posted a 3-2 victory over Duquesne's Jeff Moskyok in the second round. Massey advanced to the quarterfinal round after gathering a medical forfeit decision over Cal State Fullerton's Rowdy Lundegreen. In his next bout in the quarterfinals, Massey earned a 7-7 tie-break criteria win over Bloomsburg's Justin Johnson before falling to #7 Clint Wattenberg of Cornell in a 12-3 major decision match in the semifinal round.

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 in the first round. Foley then advanced to the second round to face Pennsylvania's Yoshi Nakamura, the #2 seed at 157 pounds. Nakamura defeated Foley with a 19-3 technical fall victory, sending Foley to the consolation bracket. In Foley's quarterfinal match in the consolation bracket, he posted a 6-4 decision over Appalachian State's P.J. Boccia. In his next match in the semifinal round, Foley dropped a 9-4 decision to VMI's Adam Britt.

The Cavaliers' Painter was dealt a 4-2 loss in the first round after falling to #9 seed Paul Hynek from Northern Iowa in the heavyweight class. Painter then dropped a 12-1 major decision bout to Air Force's Kevin Hoy in the consolation bracket to end his run in the NCAA Championships with a 0-2 record.

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 2002 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will concluded 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)
157	Yoshi Nakamura (Penn) def. Tim Foley (UVa)			TF, 19-3
157	Tim Foley (UVa) def. P.J. Boccia (Appalachian State)		6-5
157	Adam Britt (VMI) def. Tim Foley (UVa)			9-4

184	Travis Pascoe (Nebraska) def. Jimi Massey (UVa)		11-8
184	Jimi Massey (UVa) def. Jeff Moskyok (Duquesne)		3-2
184	Jimi Massey (UVa) def. Rowdy Lundegreen (CS Fullerton)	Med. Forfeit
184	Jimi Massey (UVa) def. Justin Johnson (Bloomsburg)		7-7 (OT)
184	Clint Wattenberg (Cornell) def. Jimi Massey (UVa)		MD, 12-3

HWT	Paul Hynek (Northern Iowa) def. Ryan Painter (UVa)		4-2
HWT	Kevin Hoy (Air Force) def. Ryan Painter			MD, 12-1

-- UVa --