Feb. 25, 2002

The Duke University wrestling team will look to snap a five match losing streak on Tuesday, February 26 when the host ACC rival N.C. State. The opening match will begin at 7:30 p.m. The Blue Devils enter the contest with a 5-7 overall and 0-3 in the ACC, while the Wolfpack is 10-8 and 3-1 on the year.

Duke is coming off a 23-16 loss to Appalachian State on Tuesday, February 19. Daegan Smith (Washington, D.C.) and. Tommy Hoang (Cushing, Okla.) earned technical fall victories, while Harry Clarke (Atlanta, Ga.) and Luke Palmisano (Massapequa, N.Y.) won by decision for the Blue Devils.

N.C. State defeated East Stroudsburg, 38-3, in its last outing. Nationally-ranked Pierre Pryor pinned East Stroudsburg's Brandon Mihalko in the feature match at 165 pounds. Pryor, ranked 17th in the latest InterMat national listings, took Mihalko down three times before decking him in 1:55. The Wolfpack had two other pins from Ngozi Collins (285) and Ryan McCallum (141), former PIAA state champion from nearby Northampton High School, and two major decisions from George Cintron (125) and Jason Gore (197).

Tuesday's match will feature several battles with major implications heading into the ACC Championship Tournament. At 165-lbs. Duke's Mike Mitchell (Midwest City, Okla.) faces two-time ACC Champion Pierre Pryor. Both wrestlers are undefeated in ACC action, with the winner of the contest most likely earning the top seed at the ACC Tournament Mitchell is 24-10 on the year and 3-0 in the ACC, while the 17th ranked Pryor is 21-7 and 4-0.

At 125-lbs. Tommy Hoang squares off with defending ACC champion George Cintron. At last year's ACC Championship, Cintron bested Hoang 3-1 in the finals. Hoang is 20-7 overall this season and seeking a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Daegan Smith puts his four match win streak on the line versus Jason Gore. Gore is currently resting a top the ACC standings at 197-lbs with a 4-0 record. Smith, 20-11 and 2-1 in the ACC, leads Duke with five pins, including three in less the two minutes. The Blue Devils final home match of the season is on Thursday, February 28 versus Gardner-Webb at 7:30 p.m.