There was no letdown after the wrestling team's dramatic victory over conference power Virginia. Four days after taking the top spot in the ACC, Duke (8-6, 3-0 in the ACC) visited Campbell (2-12) and left with an impressive 37-3 victory.
The Blue Devils showed all-around toughness with their favorites winning big and several underdogs upsetting Campbell's best wrestlers.
"I was pleasantly surprised and pleased that it turned out this one-sided," head coach Clar Anderson said. "It turned out to be a great match where we won all the close ones."
The contest did not start close, however, as Duke's Andy Soliman defeated Elliot Berger 16-3 in the 149-pound weight class. Brandon Foose won 8-3 at 157, and Michael Mitchell recorded a 25-7 technical decision at 165. The three wins gave the Blue Devils an early 12-0 lead.
A minor decision at 174 by Levi Craig set up the first of three big Blue Devil wins. 184-pounder Frank Cornely faced Campbell's Lantz Nixon, the No. 4 wrestler in the CAA, Campbell's conference. Nixon had defeated Cornely earlier this season, but Cornely emerged victorious by a 6-3 margin.
Anderson cited Cornely's win as the key point in the match.
"Once that happened I think the match was locked up," he said. "There really wasn't pressure on some of the guys which really frees them up to do better."
Campbell forfeited at 197 before earning its only win of the night at heavyweight. With the team score at 24-3, the match switched back to the lower weights.
At 125, Duke's Christian Smith faced Andy Bricker, a wrestler who had defeated Smith earlier in the year. This time, however, Smith struck quickly, scoring a takedown and back points to take the lead before the match ended with an injury default.
"Christian wrestled a great match," Anderson said. "To turn it around with a takedown and back points was real impressive."
Finishing the match strongly for Duke, Adam Benitez continued his recent hot streak with a major decision at 133. Daniel Schvartsman capped off the Blue Devil victory with a minor decision at 141.
As he has done all season, Anderson stessed winning close bouts as the key to the team's success.
"This year we're winning almost all the close matches," he said. "There's a lot of guys winning the close matches week in, week out.
Hopefully they keep gaining confidence and believe they can keep doing it."
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