Sports Briefs

Wrestlers to Grapple In ACC Tournament

The North Carolina wrestling team will compete in the 2002 ACC Tournament on Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. The Tar Heels, who tied N.C. State for the 2002 regular season title, will be looking for their ninth conference title in the last 11 years.

UNC is led by seniors Brad Byers (141 pounds) and Matt Kenny (heavyweight). Kenny is a three-time defending ACC champion and finished this season with a 19-7 record including five pins and six major decisions. Byers is a two-time ACC Tournament finalist and completed the 2002 regular season with a 27-11 record, recording eight wins by major decision.

Freshmen Chris Rodrigues and Evan Sola also have been impressive for UNC coach Bill Lam this season. Rodrigues (125 pounds) finished the year at 27-10 and totaled 10 wins by pinfall. Sola (133 pounds) completed the regular season by winning 14 straight matches to improve to 24-8 for the year. Both Rodrigues and Sola earned ACC Performer of the Week honors earlier this season.

Other Tar Heels competing are: Nick Richmond (184 pounds), who was 17-12 this year; Michael Booth (149 pounds), who tallied an 11-6 record in 2002; Chris DiGuiseppe (165 pounds), who finished 13-12; and Mark Canty (174 pounds), who was 15-11 this season.

Action gets underway Saturday at 11 a.m. The consolation finals are at 4:30 p.m., and the finals start at 7 p.m.

9 Swimmers Invited To Women's NCAAs

Nine members of the North Carolina's 15th-ranked women's swimming and diving team earned invitations Thursday to compete in the 2002 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships to be held March 21-23 at the University of Texas.

Seven of the nine swimmers have participated in the NCAA meet in previous years. Junior Laura Collier and sophomore Whitney Smith are first-time invitees.

Other swimmers qualifying for the meet are seniors Katie Hathaway, Stefanie Rulis and Molly Sullivan, junior Christy Watkins and sophomores Becky Acker, Jessi Perruquet and Kelly Weeks.

Hathaway, Perruquet and Weeks have earned first-team All-American honors in previous years at the NCAA Championships while Acker, Rulis and Watkins have earned honorable mention All-America status.

UNC, UM Gymnasts To Meet for 1st Time

The UNC gymnastics team travels to Minneapolis to take on ninth-ranked Minnesota on Saturday at the Sports Pavilion.

UNC's No. 22 ranking marks the first time since 1991 that the Tar Heels have been listed in the top 25. UNC's highest regular season ranking was in 1986 when the Tar Heels reached No.12.

This is the first time that UNC and Minnesota have met in competition.

Men's Lacrosse Looks To Build on 6-OT Win

The 10th-ranked North Carolina men's lacrosse team returns to action for the first time since its six-overtime thriller against Navy when the Tar Heels host the Delaware Blue Hens on Saturday at Fetzer Field at 1 p.m.

UNC is off to a 3-0 start under second-year head coach John Haus. The Tar Heels have a three-overtime win against Ohio State, a victory at Bucknell and the win against Navy.

The Blue Hens dropped their opener to Loyola at home but have since beaten Rutgers and Mount Saint Mary's.

Baseball Heads to Ala. After Thrashing ODU

Coming off a 23-3 win at Old Dominion on March 5, UNC travels to Auburn this weekend for three games at Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park.

The Tar Heels (6-5) and the Tigers have met just three times on the baseball diamond, including last year at the Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Ala. Auburn won that seven-inning game 11-1.

UNC defeated the Tigers 3-2 at the 1978 South Regional held in Auburn. In their only other meeting, the two teams played to a 3-3 tie in 1923.