The wrestling team came close to recording its first Atlantic Coast Conference victory Saturday at Maryland, but it fell short and dropped the match, 25-15.
The Blue Devils (4-5, 0-3 in the ACC) picked up momentum and an early 6-3 lead when freshman Joe Hammond pinned Maryland's James Pascarella at the 126-lb. level. After junior Dan Covatta and senior Scott Frinzi won decisions at the 142-lb. and 150-lb. weight classes, respectively, Duke held a 12-9 advantage halfway through the match. With their triumphs, Covatta (20-3) and Frinzi (15-7) strengthened their standing as the team's winningest wrestlers.
At 158 lbs., however, the Blue Devils dropped a pivotal showdown. Freshman Matt Mapes, who entered Saturday's match with a perfect 11-0 mark, suffered the first loss of his collegiate career. Terrapin senior Patrick Flynn, the defending conference champion at the 150-lb. weight class, seized command on a pair of first-period takedowns. Flynn padded his lead with a second-period escape and finished with a three-point decision that evened the overall team score at 12.
"Matt got in a couple of good shots, but they didn't end up in a takedown," head coach Bill Harvey said. "Matt knows he'll meet him again in the ACC Tournament, and [Flynn] uses the same move every time, so now Matt knows what he does."
Although Mapes failed to capitalize on some of his opportunities, Harvey emphasized that the freshman would learn from his mistakes. Mid-season errors might hurt the Blue Devils' chances at immediate success, but regular-season matches have given Duke's wrestlers an opportunity to prepare for the more important postseason.
"It was disappointing for Matt to lose, but we'd rather have that happen now and not at ACCs," Harvey said. "This way, we have a good chance to work on things and beat them at the ACC Tournament."
The teams split the next two bouts, with sophomore Jesse Raia tying the score at 15 by winning a decision at the 177-lb. level. But Maryland won a major decision at the 190-lb. weight class and a pin at heavyweight to seal the overall victory and improve its record to 6-3, 1-2 in the ACC.
"It was a tight match all the way to the end, and like I've been saying all year, we've been improving," Harvey said. "[Coming close] has to pick you up some because it shows you that at least you're in the hunt."
Duke's last chance to win an ACC match comes Tuesday night at 8 p.m., when it hosts N.C. State at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils will attempt to take better advantage of their opponents' mistakes in their last three regular-season matches, and they could make a strong showing at the conference tournament if they correct their unforced errors.
"[Against Maryland] we made very few mistakes, and some cost us a couple of points, but they're correctable," Harvey said. "In some situations, we would push in on our guys when we should have tried to stay even and make them push in and make mistakes. Little things like that cost us this weekend, but they're things that are easily correctable."
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