Nov. 6, 2012

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Duke 197-pound redshirt freshman Conner Hartmann and Maryland 133-pound sophomore Geoffrey Alexander have been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Wrestlers of the Week following their strong starts to the 2012-13 season.

Hartmann defeated three of the top five seeds en route to the Hokie Open title at 197 pounds over the weekend. Competing for the first time in a Duke singlet, the Port Orchard, Wash., native gave up just five points in four matches to come away with first place. After blanking his first opponent, the redshirt freshman downed No. 2 seed Derrick Borlie of Virginia Tech to earn a spot in the semifinal. Up against No. 3 seed Dan Seidenberg of Rutgers, Hartmann kept a second opponent scoreless with a 3-0 win to advance to the title bout where he defeated UNC rival Antonio Girogio 6-3 for top honors.

Alexander got Maryland off to a fast start in Sunday’s season opener against Johns Hopkins, pinning the Blue Jays’ Ray Yagloski in 1:59 to key the Terrapins to a 40-6 victory. The Pittsburgh native followed up with a hard-fought 7-5 decision over 17th-ranked Colin Johnston. The win by Alexander, ranked 18th in the 133-pound weight class by InterMat in preseason, helped the 15th-ranked Terps to a 24-10 win over a Mountaineer squad that received votes in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Top 25 preseason poll.