April 3, 2007

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - TarHeelBlue.com recently sat down with UNC wrestling head coach C.D. Mock for a look back at the 2006-07 season. Mock and his team had extremely high expectations for last year, but fell short of their goals due to injuries and other factors.

Carolina finished third at the ACC Championships after winning the league title in each of the last two seasons and sent only two wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.

The Tar Heels will lose two-time All-America Evan Sola, as well as highly-decorated seniors Spencer Nadolsky and David Dashiell from this year's team but still return a talented core that is already working hard for a better showing next season.

TarHeelBlue.com: You had high expectations earlier in the year for this team. You were hoping for five All-Americas, admittedly a lofty goal. Are you disappointed in the way the season unfolded?
C.D. Mock: I am very disappointed. We definitely had some adversity. Season-ending injuries to Alex Maciag and David Dashiell hurt us badly and certainly affected our original goal. However, to send only two guys to NCAAs was heartbreaking.

THB.com: You and your staff have to have thought a lot about how the season finished up. In addition to the injuries, what else went wrong?
Mock: Looking back on the year, I felt like we were progressing very well. We lost some close matches, but the guys were improving on the mat. Going into the ACC Championships we felt really good and thought we had a chance to get five or six guys into the finals. But we came out flat and showed very little fire; Everything that could go wrong for us went wrong. It was probably the most difficult day of my coaching career.

Frankly, I believe a large part of this is my fault. I'm not going to go into specifics, but I will tell you that I have always believed a good coach needs to know when to get out of the way. This year, I think I failed to recognize the right time to do this, and I think this attributed greatly to our performance at ACCs. It's a tough lesson.

I am blessed with some of the finest young men I have ever known on my team, and these guys work harder than any group I have ever been a part of. They are extremely committed to UNC wrestling and they did everything we asked of them all year. I don't believe any team in the country was better prepared for a conference tournament than these guys, largely due to their work ethic.

THB.com: How tough do you think it was for the seniors, Sola, Nadolsky and Dashiell?
Mock: That's the hardest thing for any coach, to have your seniors not achieve their goals. I always tell these guys that, particularly in wrestling, it's the journey that is important, not necessarily the end result. All three of these guys should feel good about what they put into this sport. They represented their school and themselves admirably and honorably, and I am very proud of them. We don't all get to accomplish what we want to accomplish. To give it all you have and therefore, have no regrets is what you take with you. I think they get that.

THB.com: How can you build on the adversity that you went through this season? What are your thoughts on next year?
Mock: There is no team in the country I would rather be coaching. The guys returning, as well as our recruits coming in, are extremely committed to returning UNC to national recognition. I believe these guys are warriors, and now they have something to prove.

Most of our younger guys have not stopped yet to take a break. We go to Las Vegas this weekend to the U.S. Nationals and then to University Nationals in two weeks. They are running and lifting every day of the week. In many ways, I believe the experience we just endured is going to make us a much better team. I'll hold off on making any predictions just yet, but I can tell you we won't make the same mistakes again. I've learned a great deal from this season, and I think our team has, too.