After Winter Storm Jonas prevented the Blue Devils from traveling to Charlottesville to take on Virginia Jan. 22, the squad will hit the mats for the first time in two weeks for two duals in the nation’s capital.
And for the first time in 2016, Duke will have a full lineup at its disposal.
The Blue Devils will make the trip to Washington to face off against Columbia and American at Bender Arena on the Eagles’ campus Sunday in a pair of early morning sessions of competition, with the Lions up first at 9 a.m., followed by American at 11 a.m.
“[Columbia is] tough. They’re going to come out and wrestle us hard because we recruit against them. It’s the same type of kid, so for us it’s important. American is same way,” Duke head coach Glen Lanham said. “[Our guys have] to understand that these are two teams that we recruit against and we go head-to-head with them, so we’ve got to come out and put our best foot forward. I feel like if we go out there and wrestle, we’re capable of beating both of those teams.”
Although the team has been off since a Jan. 17 dual against Cal Poly, the long break and extra healing time may be just what Duke (2-5) needed to get back on track this season. For the first time since Dec. 15—when the Blue Devils lost their opening dual at Appalachian State—the team will not be shorthanded in at least one weight class.
Sophomore Thayer Atkins missed six consecutive duals at 125 pounds due to a concussion, but has since recovered and will return to the lineup. The sophomore was 6-5 this season before being sidelined, and will look to prevent his team from falling in the deadly 6-0 holes they have faced in his absence.
“We’re excited about [having Thayer back],” Lanham said. “He’s not tentative with his wrestling, so that’s good. It seems like he’s not wrestling to protect his injury or anything like that. We’re excited to have him back. He’s tough and obviously, he’s a guy that’s not going to go out there and give up six for us. So it’s good have him back in the lineup for sure.”
Atkins will be tested immediately in his return. In the second dual of the day against the Eagles (4-3), No. 8 David Terao will take the mat at 125 pounds. A three-time NCAA qualifier and senior captain for American, Terao is 15-2 this season and undefeated in dual competition.
The Eagles will also send out No. 11 John Boyle at 157 pounds looking for bonus points in the middle of the lineup. A 2015 NCAA qualifier, Boyle joins Terao as a senior captain seeking revenge for last season’s 30-9 blowout loss at Duke. The duo recorded the most and second-most wins in a single season in program history last year, with Terao recording 39 to Boyle's 37.
Connor Bass will match up with Boyle at 157 pounds for the Blue Devils, but will begin his day with a tough match against Columbia’s Markus Scheidel. Although Bass upended the Lion at the Hokie Open earlier this season, 6-4, Scheidel has led Columbia (7-2) to its best start since 1998-99, when the Lions opened the season 8-1.
“[Scheidel]’s going to be tough, and Bass knows that he’s got his hands full. It was a tough match [at the Hokie Open], and Bass just physically outworked him in certain situations,” Lanham said. “[Sheidel and Boyle] are two victories that we have to have in those duals. We’ll see. Bass has to set himself up. He’s been on a little slump, and he’s got to wrestle out of it. And there is no better way to get out of a slump than [to] meet two quality opponents.”
Although American has its eyes set on avenging last season's loss, No. 12 Mitch Finesilver has something to prove against both opponents Sunday. The sophomore is undefeated in duals this season and has only lost five matches overall, but he dropped two early season contests against the Eagles’ Tom Page and Columbia’s Danny Reed at the Hokie Open. Page bested Finesilver in a hard-fought 3-1 decision, but Reed outcompeted the Duke grappler in a 14-5 major decision.
After switching from an NCAA qualifier at 133 pounds to 149 pounds in the offseason, Lanham attributed Finesilver’s early season mishaps to the drastic change with shifting weights.
“Anytime you go up two weight classes there is a [thought of] ‘Am I strong enough?’ and ‘Can I do the same things I used to do at [133 pounds] at [149 pounds]?’” Lanham said. “I think those are going to be two different matches. He is a different wrestler right now and I’m excited for him to go up and wrestle those guys because I feel like he’s going to show the nation that he is a different wrestler. If those guys count on the same Mitch, they’re going to be sadly mistaken.”
The Blue Devils have yet to finish a weekend road trip with a winning record this season—they returned from Pitt Duals with a 1-2 ledger and went .500 on their West Coast swing—but with a full arsenal of weapons bearing down on the capital, Lanham said that he is excited to change that this weekend.
“We can’t go up there and overlook these guys, and I don’t think we ever do anyway,” he said. “We know we’ll have our hands full. It’s exciting for me because you’ve got two equal teams and it’s going to be who has the stronger willpower.... Do we want to come back four hours going there 0-2 or do we want to go 2-0 and have a nice trip back? It’s all preparation.”
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