Virginia wrestlers won the last six matches and cruised to a 28-8 victory over the wrestling team in Charlottesville, Va., on Sunday. Duke dropped its Atlantic Coast Conference opener just one day after losing a 28-20 heartbreaker to Virginia Tech.
The Blue Devils (3-3, 0-1 in the ACC) took three of the first four matches from the Cavs, grabbing a 9-5 lead with senior Dan Covatta's 10-4 decision over Adrian Miles. But Duke's Mike Contarino suffered an injury early in the second period of his match at 150 lbs. and could not continue. His injury default-and a penalty against Duke for unsportsmanlike conduct-gave Virginia an 11-8 lead which it would never relinquish.
The Cavaliers managed a pair of decisions at 158 and 167 lbs, then added two major decisions at 177 and 190 lbs. Nationally-ranked heavyweight Zach Feldman closed the deal for UVa. with a 5-0 shutout of Duke freshman Alex Hunt.
"We thought we had some bright spots," said Duke coach Bill Harvey. "Virginia is a good team. We didn't lose to a weak team."
Individually, two Blue Devils continued to roll over the weekend. Covatta (27-3) and junior Chris Heckel (19-4) each notched a pair of victories on the trip. Meanwhile, 158-pounder Matt Mapes was handed his first two losses of the season, falling 6-4 to Eric Hall of Virginia Tech and 14-7 to Alex Leykikh of UVa.
Saturday's match in Blacksburg was a wild affair, with a total of six pins and technical falls. Tech senior Mike Mercado (118 lbs) set the tone in the very first bout with a pin of Duke's Bill West at 1:44 of the first period. Heckel responded with a 21-8 technical fall of Levi Taylor, and, after freshman Cameron Stock lost a major decision 9-1, Covatta knocked off David Inkman 12-5 to draw the Blue Devils within two points.
Virginia Tech then ran off three straight victories and, despite pins from Jesse Raia (177 lbs.) and Dion Santo (190 lbs.), Duke was unable to complete a long comeback. Leading 24-20 going into the heavyweight bout, Tech iced the victory with Corey Bird's 13-5 major decision over Hunt.
"We were expecting to get maybe two more wins out of [Saturday's] match," Harvey said. "Of course that would have turned the match around. Overall the kids who won wrestled well, and I thought everyone wrestled hard.
"We made too many mistakes. Sometimes when you wrestle the better teams, they force you into making errors. I think our kids have a chance to get back on track. We'll get in the room and try to work out some problems."
Duke will have over a week to work out the kinks before returning to the mats Tuesday, Feb. 11 against North Carolina in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 8 p.m. The 23rd-ranked Tarheels are the favorites to capture the ACC crown, and feature two defending conference champions.
"We know [UNC] is going to be a tough match," Harvey said. "I definitely think Heckel and Covatta are ready. If we found anything out [this weekend], it's that we can wrestle with these guys."
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