March 17, 2003

FAIRFAX, VA ... Despite the decline in victories the past two seasons, one thing has remained constant for the George Mason University wrestling program - turning out national qualifiers.

For the 18th straight season, at least one Patriot wrestler will be competing at the NCAA Championships when the tournament gets underway Thursday and continues through Saturday at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO. And for the 14th time in the last 15 years, at least two George Mason student-athletes have found themselves in the national spotlight.

Junior Rob Becker (Mickleton, NJ/Clearview Regional) and sophomore Aaron Suranofsky (Northampton, PA/Northampton Area) will be representing George Mason at the NCAA Championships this season. Becker will be making his second trip to the national tournament after receiving a "wild card" berth with his third-place finish at 149 pounds at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships March 8, while Suranofsky earned his first trip to nationals with a second-place finish at 125.

Patriot head coach Brian Shaffer has seen injuries and other factors decimate his team the past two seasons, leading to a 4-8 overall record in 2001-02 and a 2-12 mark this year, as the program's streak of 16 consecutive winning campaigns has come to an end. But the prospects of success for Becker and Suranofsky have kept Shaffer and the rest of the Patriots moving forward.

"Despite struggling through injuries, the guys on the team have never given up," said Shaffer, who has coached 27 NCAA qualifiers in eight years at George Mason. "It shows the character of Rob, Aaron and the rest of the team to continue to work hard through a tough dual-meet season."

Becker (30-6 in 2002-03) has the best chance of giving George Mason its first All-American since 1995, when Matt Finacchio placed eighth at 126 pounds to become the fourth Patriot All-American. Becker won one of his three matches in his first trip to the national tournament last year, and this season, five of his six losses have come to a nationally ranked wrestler. Ranked nationally much of the year by InterMat, reaching as high as 16th the past two weeks before falling out of the final rankings, he enters the NCAA Championships having won 19 of his last 21 matches.

"Rob can beat anyone in the country," said Shaffer. "He works as hard as anyone we've ever had here at George Mason. We have a lot of confidence he'll do well and become an All-American."

Suranofsky (17-8) has won 12 of his last 15 matches and is beginning to show the promise expected of him as top recruit for the program in 2001. Seeded fourth at the CAA Championships, he upset top-seeded Pat Flynn of Hofstra, 8-5, in the semifinals before falling to Rider's Bobby Stinson in the finals.

"Aaron has proven this season he is capable of beating national-caliber opponents," said Shaffer. "He has shown that when he wrestles to his abilities, he can compete with anyone in the country."