Senior Dan Covatta ran his record to 24-3 and Duke wrestlers won seven of 10 matches to clobber The Citadel, 29-10, Saturday in Charleston, S.C.
Covatta dominated LaVictor Libscomb, 14-5, scoring six takedowns-including three in the final period-to take a major decision. The Blue Devils' 142 lb. captain improved to 4-0 in dual meets, and won his 88th career match.
"He's wrestling up to par," head coach Bill Harvey said, "right where he should be at this point."
Duke's entire lineup looked up to par Saturday, collecting two pins and two major decisions, continuing its recent roll. The Blue Devils have won three of four dual meets this month.
Freshman Bill West led off for Duke at 118 lbs. with his tenth win, and junior Matt Mapes remained undefeated at 158 lbs. with a 13-8 decision over Tim Richie. Mapes is a perfect 8-0 this season.
The pins for Duke came at 126 lbs. and 150 lbs. from Chris Heckel and Mike Contarino, respectively. Contarino made quick work of the Bulldogs' Tony Nguyen, dispatching him in just 1:41. Meanwhile, Heckel needed just 3:06 to handle G.T. Duncan.
After Duke freshman Cameron Stock dropped a 5-3 decision at 134 lbs., Covatta's win started a four-match string during which Duke stretched its lead to 25-3, putting the match out of reach. Dion Santo put the finishing touches on the day for Duke with a 14-6 major decision at 190 lbs.
The only bright spots on the day for The Citadel were major decisions in the 177 lb. and heavyweight classes, but they were far from enough to hold off the Blue Devils.
After having wrestled four early season tournaments, Duke has turned the corner into the dual-meet portion of the schedule, with seven more matches to be wrestled before the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Mar. 8. The Blue Devils return to the mat Tuesday night when they play host to Campbell at 8 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke will then travel to Virginia Tech on Saturday before opening the ACC regular season Sunday against Virginia in Charlottesville.
"We're very pleased [with our progress]," Harvey said. "We're not where we want to be yet, but we're moving in the right direction."
Looking ahead to the four ACC matches in the next month, Harvey acknowledged that the easy part of the schedule was over. But he praised the strong execution demonstrated thus far by his squad.
"One of the big improvements we've made as a team this year is that we have eliminated a lot of mistakes," Harvey said. "We're wrestling smart."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.