March 18, 2003

Head Coach Bill Lam

TarHeelBlue: You won the ACC Championship in your final year and taking seven guys to nationals, the most since 1994, what does that mean to you?

Lam: "First of all it was exciting to win ACC's. I thought it was going to be tight and the guys stepped it up and blew the other teams away. Of course nationals has always been an important factor to us.

"The guys going are all really pretty young, but I feel like all seven of them are capable of winning matches and if they compete at the level they did at ACC's, we could come back with several All-Americans."

THB: How important is that one year of experience at nationals those sophomores got as freshman last year?

Lam: "It's huge, Mark Canty, Evan Sola, Chris Rodrigues all have a different feel. They understand what it takes to compete at that level. Dashiell is going to get woken up and even though Dusty (Heist) is a sophomore, he did not have the opportunity to compete at nationals last year. It will be a new experience for all of them."

THB: What can the guys on the team that qualified last year tell their teammates to help prepare them?

Lam: "Just don't get lost with the hype. There's 25,000 people there and its loud, fans are screaming, and you can get caught up in it because it's a national championship. It's still wrestling, you cannot look ahead; you have to take it one match at a time and wrestle one opponent at a time. The biggest thing at nationals is you cannot look past anyone because all the matches are tough."

THB: At the beginning of the year you had a goal to finish in the Top 20 at nationals, how reachable is that goal now that the team is headed to Kansas City, Mo.?

Lam: "It's going to be tough. The Top 35 teams are all really tough, but I think it's attainable. It's just a matter of the guys wrestling the way they have been and I think we'll come away with a couple All-Americans and then I believe we will crack the Top 20."

THB: The guys on the team said you got them riled up for the ACC Championship, what did you say to them?

Lam: "It wasn't anything I said to them, more than what our preparation was throughout the year. We earned it, the other teams didn't do the early morning workouts, they didn't do all the extra running, and I believed that we were the best team and didn't care who won the regular season."

THB: How do you feel heading into nationals?

Lam: "I feel good. Everybody thinks that Rodrigues is automatically going to be an All-American again, but every All-American is back in that weight class plus one that red-shirted the year before, so that's tough. But I feel like he's ready, along with Sola and Canty. I think all seven are ready and I just hope that we wrestle well."

Christopher DiGuiseppe (157 pounds)

THB: How do you feel about the ACC Championship and how do you feel you are wrestling heading into nationals?

DiGuiseppe: "I had to change my whole mindset, here within a day receiving a bid. Looking at the situation I think I really should have gotten a bid. I think I wrestled well at ACC's but apparently it wasn't good enough. But now that there was an injury, I slide in as the alternate and I'm looking forward to the challenge at nationals.

"I beat the top ranked wrestler in the ACC at the championship and I'm real confident heading into NCAA's. My goal is be an All-American. I've always wanted to be an All-American, and in year's past, I've fallen a little short. Getting it done at ACC's doesn't mean that I'm going to get it done at nationals, but its about who wants it more out there. I can make things happen, I can turn some heads and that is what I'm going to try and do."

THB: This year you competed at 149 and 157 pounds, depending on where the team needed you, how difficult was that for you?

DiGuiseppe: "149 was a huge cut for you. This is my senior year and I was trying to go all out. The fact of the matter is, that cutting that much weight, I couldn't perform. Coach has been pushing it, I kept fighting it, but I got to go up to 157 pounds and I think I've proven that I am much better at that weight division."

THB: When you look at this year before it started, do you feel like you have accomplished the goals you laid out for yourself before the season started?

DiGuiseppe: "When ACC's ended and I was selected as an alternate, it was a little tough for me. I was happy about what the team had accomplished and was proud of the fact that I defeated a top 10 athlete, but it did hurt. It was such an amazing day, but to not get a bid to nationals really bothered me.

"But now I have a chance to show why I should have gotten one with the injury to Josh Etu. To go out there and get a chance to dance at the show is going to be awesome and I'm definitely going to take advantage of the situation."

Chris Rodrigues (125 pounds)

THB: How did it feel to get some redemption at ACC's with a win over last year's champion George Cintron?

Rodrigues: "It felt great, but the big win was with the team. That was great for myself, but it was so much more to win the team title. Coach challenged us to do it without (Michael) Booth and we did it."

THB: How did it feel to beat NC State (last year's champion) by 23 points? Rodrigues: "It was awesome. It was just great! "

THB: What's the difference between this year's team and last year's team?

Rodrigues: "This year's team is a lot more fun. Everyone has a positive attitude and we work a lot harder this year. We had it in our heads this year that we were going to win ACC's and nobody on our team doubted that."

THB: Do you feel like you snuck up on people last year and this year they will be gunning for you at nationals?

Rodrigues: "My chances are about the same. I've had my ups-and-downs this year, but I feel like I'm out of my slump. I think everyone believes last year was a fluke, but I have huge expectations and this is my chance to prove them wrong again."

THB: How do you think the team is going to do at NCAA's this year?

Rodrigues: "We're definitely going to do a lot better this year than we did last year. We're going to be much more of a team this year because we're taking seven, compared to five a year ago. Last year it felt like an individual tournament and this year it feels more like a team tournament."

Evan Sola (133 pounds)

THB: How does it feel to win your first ACC Championship?

Sola: "It feels good, but at this point I'm not trying to reflect on that yet, because I'd like to go further and accomplish more. I'd like to win some matches at nationals and possibly become an All-American."

THB: How much did you learn from last year and what can you bring with you to this year's NCAA Championship?

Sola: "Don't give anybody too much respect! Don't fear names. Everybody is tough at nationals and anyone can win at anytime. Don't lose your mental edge."

THB: You head into nationals on a 14-match winning streak and have not had any close matches in that span, is that an advantage or disadvantage?

Sola: "I'm feeling pretty confident. I haven't lost in over a month and those were to nationally ranked opponents, and I feel like I've gotten so much better since then. I feel like I can go in there (nationals) and upset one of these caliber wrestlers and maybe become an All-American."

THB: What do you think will be a good finish for this year's team at nationals?

Sola: "Now that we have seven guys going to the championship, I'd like to have a Top 15 finish. If we have an All-American or two, which is very possible, we can be in the Top 15 and that's what I'd like to see happen."

Mark Canty (174 pounds)

THB: How does it feel to win your first ACC Championship?

Canty: "It feels great. We've worked hard all season and it was gratifying for the team to win it. You can enjoy it with a lot more people when that happens. Having five individual champions was great."

THB: What can you take into this year's nationals that you learned at last year's?

Canty: "Experience! Last year I caught the number one seed and a returning All-American. This year, hopefully, my seed is a little bit better, but I have a good feel of what is out there. I think I'm a lot better than I was a year ago and now I have the experience of being at nations to go along with it."

THB: Do you feel like North Carolina has to regain respect after finishing out of the Top 25 the last two years?

Canty: "I think the South has to earn some respect. It's pretty much talked down and everyone believes that the Big Ten and Big XII is where all the good wrestlers are. Well we have some pretty good wrestlers at schools down here as well and I believe we need to go out there and prove it.

"If we have two or three All-Americans from our team, and a couple more from other schools in the ACC, they will look at our conference with more respect."

THB: What are some of your and the team's goals heading into the NCAA Championship?

Canty: "My goal is be an All-American. Some of the team's goals are to better our 30th place finish last year and have two or three All-Americans instead of just one. Top 15 or 20 in the country would be a nice finish to this year and a nice start to next year."

Jimmy O'Connor (165 pounds)

THB: It's your senior year and you have qualified for nationals and won an ACC Championship, how does it feel to accomplish these goals in your final year as a Tar Heel?

O'Connor: "It feels good, it's a load off my shoulders. The job is not done yet though. I want to be an All-American and I've already set it in my mind that I'm going to make it to the All-American round."

THB: What have some of your teammates that qualified last year told you about the national championship event?

O'Connor: "Just to be ready for the first match to the last match. They told me that some of the guys I'm going to see are going to be strong and aggressive. That is my style of wrestling, so I think I'm going to be ready for that.

"Mark and I have been preparing ourselves over the last week-and-a-half throwing each other around, being real physical, so that when we step onto the mat at nationals, we will be ready."

THB: What are the team's expectations at nationals?

O'Connor: "If everyone wrestles the way they are supposed to wrestle, and I think they will because we have been working hard, a Top 15 finish is within grasp."

THB: What were the emotions like at ACC's? Coach Lam's final match at the conference championship, how important was it to win the title?

O'Connor: "It was awesome. The funny thing was we already sent nine guys to the finals and we knew that we had the championship won by then. The emotions were very high because everyone wanted to give it their all because that is the way Coach Lam has coached us over the years and we did."

THB: What are your emotions like heading into nationals?

O'Connor:"I have nothing to lose, no regrets, just apologies, I'm ready to kick some butt!"

David Dashiell (197 pounds)

THB: In the middle of this year you said that you were going to be an ACC champion and qualify for nationals. Now that you've accomplished that, how do you feel?

Dashiell: "I had a rough middle of the year, but at the end I started elevating my game, and when I started doing that I knew that I was going to be an ACC champion."

THB: What were your emotions like after you won the title?

Dashiell: "As soon as I won I knew that I qualified for NCAAs and accomplished one of my goals. The second goal was to earn All-America honors and I'm ready to try and accomplish that goal at nationals."

THB: What have some of the guys on the team told you about nationals?

Dashiell:"Anybody can get beat. Go out there and fight hard!"

THB: What is your goal at nationals?

Dashiell: "To be an All-American and have the team place in the Top 20."

Dustin Heist (184 pounds)

THB:How do you feel now that you are an ACC Champion and heading to the NCAA Championship?

Heist: "I feel really good about the way this year has gone. Last year I had a bad end of the year and didn't get to go to ACC's, so this year was bittersweet."

THB: What was it like to defeat Jake Stork (Maryland) who defeated you twice earlier this year?

Heist: "He had beaten by one point in each of those two matches and scored two points late in our last match to earn the second victory. So to be able to control the ACC final match the way I did, was a great feeling. It's really weird if you're on one day what can happen."

THB:Where is your confidence at right now?

Heist: "I'm very confident. I'm just looking forward to going to nationals and wrestling as hard as I can. I'm really not looking at winning the national championship, I'm just looking at each individual match and try to win one by one, and when it is all said and done, hopefully finish in the top eight."

THB:How do you prepare for nationals? "Just the way you've been doing it all season. Train hard and really just try and have fun. Enjoy the end of the season and work at getting better practice to practice."

How big was it to win that last championship for Coach Lam?

Heist: "I think it was big for everybody. He kept telling us not to do it for him, but for ourselves. But I know everybody wanted to show their appreciation for all he's done by going out there and winning for him and to do it in such a dominating fashion was great."