March 5, 2006

LEXINGTON, Va. - After finishing second in their respective weight classes at Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships, North Carolina juniors David Dashiell and Spencer Nadolsky and redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez received at-large berths to the 2006 NCAA Division I Championships scheduled for March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Tar Heels, who have three ACC champions, will now send six wrestlers to nationals.

Senior Garrett Atkinson, sophomore Alex Maciag and redshirt freshman Jared Royer each captured individual titles and earned the league's automatic spots at the NCAA tourney. Atkinson, a two-time champ at 165, and Dashiell, who has won two league titles at 197, both wrestled at nationals a year ago. The other four Tar Heels will be making their first appearances.

Ramirez is 37-7 on the season and had a 17-match winning streak snapped in the ACC's 141-pound final. Nadolsky is 39-5 at heavyweight, and Dashiell has a career-best 32-11 mark at 197 pounds.

All 10 ACC champions advanced to the national tournament, and the league received four at-large berths.