Also the ACC champion in 2003 and 2005, Sola scored a 7-0 decision over Virginia's Eric Albright in the title bout to cap his final ACC Championships appearance. The Wernersville, Pa., native took a 3-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and an escape and added a takedown in each of the next two periods to cruise to the title.
A sixth-year senior, Sola will make his fourth trip to the NCAA Championships and first since 2005 after missing last season with a shoulder injury. He is the first Tar Heel to win three ACC titles since Matt Kenney captured his third in 2002.
Now 14-3 on the season, Sola received a first-round bye and opened with a pin of Duke's Spencer Jasper in 2:30 the semifinals. The pin was his fifth of the season and the 26th of his career, which is good for a tie for ninth on the Tar Heels' career list.
Senior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky dropped a 5-2 decision to NC State's Jainor Palma in the finals to earn his second straight runner-up finish. After the wrestlers traded escapes, Palma scored a pair of third-period takedowns to post a 5-2 victory. Nadolsky had a first-round bye and moved to the heavyweight final for the second straight season with a 9-8 decision over Maryland's Jerry Afari in the semis. He is currently 23-8 on the season and ranked 10th nationally.
Seeded third at 149, sophomore Vincent Ramirez pinned Virginia Tech's A.J. Johnson in 4:05 and followed with a 12-6 decision over second-seeded Andrew Schlaffer of Maryland to advance to his second consecutive ACC final. Ramirez took a 2-0 lead on a second period takedown, but NC State's Joe Caramanica tied the match with a pair of escapes and won it on a late takedown in the third period for a 4-3 final score. Ramirez is now 15-9 this season.
A quartet of Tar Heels earned third-place finishes: Drew Forshey (125), Ben Fiacco (157), Keegan Mueller (165) and Dennis Drury (197).
Forshey had won 12 of his last 13 bouts at 125 entering Saturday but was upset by Duke's Kellan McKeon, 4-3 in overtime, in the first bout of the day. He came back to top Ross Gitomer of Virginia (5-4) in the consolation bracket and got revenge on McKeon with a 6-3 win in the third-place bout. Forshey is now 21-8 this season.
Fiacco dropped his first bout on the day at 157, but posted back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket to take third in his first-ever ACC Championships action. He edged Mike Sewell of Virginia (4-3) before scoring a 9-8 decision Maryland's Mike McGill.
Mueller, ranked No. 16 nationally, started his day with a 3-1 decision over Virginia's Damian Johnson, but was pinned by Virginia Tech's Eric Decker in the semifinals. He went on to post an 8-0 major decision over NC State's Obie Simpson and followed with a pin of Johnson in just 1:20 in the third-place bout. He owns a team-best 30-7 record on the year.
Drury was dominant in the consolation bracket after dropping his first bout to NC State's Ryan Goodman (10-6). He recorded a technical fall of Patrick Keenum of Duke (18-2) before notching a major decision victory over UVa's Kyle Karkiewicz (11-0) in his first ACC tourney action. Drury is now 15-11 on the year.
Freshman Mike Rappo was 1-2 on the day for a fourth-place finish at 141.
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