March 7, 2002

The Duke University wrestling team will be in action on Saturday, March 9 at the ACC Championships. The Blue Devils, 6-8 overall, finished the ACC season with an 0-4 mark. Despite the team struggles in ACC action, Duke has several grapplers who will compete for individual titles in the tournament.

Mike Mitchell (Midwest City, Okla.) finished the year 3-1 in the ACC with his only loss coming to 16th-ranked Pierre Pryor of N.C. State at 165-lbs. The sophomore owns a 25-11 record on the season with eight major decision wins.

Junior Tommy Hoang (Cushing, Okla.), a NCAA qualifier last year, has a shot at the conference crown at 125-pounds. Hoang fell to George Cintron (N.C. State) in the championship match in 2001 and will face some difficult competition in Cintron and North Carolina's Chris Rodriquez. Hoang is 21-8 this season and 68-36 in his career.

At 197-lbs., Daegan Smith (Washington, D.C.) has the ability to earn an NCAA bid. Smith, 21-12 overall, posted a 2-2 mark against ACC foes. The senior has a team-high five wins by fall, including three pins in under two minutes of action.

Sophomore Frank Cornely (Pennsauken, N.J.) will have to go through a skilled group at 184-lbs., including North Carolina's Dusty Heist, Jimi Massey (Virginia) and Jake Stork (Maryland). Cornely, second on the team with 22 wins, defeated Stork, 9-4 earlier this season.

Stuart Holzer (Valley Stream, N.Y.), Harry Clarke (Atlanta, Ga.) and Luke Palmisano (Massapequa, N.Y.) look to close their college careers with strong showings at the ACC Championships. Holzer posted a 2-2 mark in the ACC at 133-lbs. with wins over Ryan Stewart (Virginia) and Adam Cox (N.C. State).

Clarke, 19-14 on the year, is coming off a dominating performance in his last outing. The senior 141-pounder pinned Gardner-Webb's Daniel Elliot in 1:35. Palmisano owns a 21-18 record at 149-lbs. with an ACC win over Mike Booth of North Carolina.

Senior Matt Hoover (Swedesboro, N.J.) will compete at 174-lbs., after wrestling most the year at 165-lbs. In his first tournament action at the higher weight class, Hoover finished fourth at the Edinboro Tournament. Heavyweight Levi Karnehm (Dayton, Ohio) has struggled throughout the year, but has the ability for an upset victory in the tournament. Freshman Jason Fink (Aurora, Ohio) is 2-3 on the year and has not faced an ACC opponent. He will represent Duke at 157-lbs.

Winners in each weight class plus a handful of wildcards will advance to the NCAA Tournament, which will be held in Albany, N.Y. on March 14.