Pins and a missed opportunity were the downfall for the Duke wrestling team against N.C. State (8-8, 3-3 in the ACC) Wednesday night. The Wolfpack secured two key pins early in the match, and Duke (9-5, 2-3) was unable to overcome a 19-0 deficit on the way to a 25-18 loss.
Alex Hernandez defeated Duke’s Antwone Floyd 10-7 in the opening match at 149 pounds to give the Wolfpack a 3-0 advantage to begin. Duke’s 157-pounder Adam Weisberg then lost a 13-3 major decision to Kody Hamrah to put the team score at 7-0.
The next two matches swung all the remaining momentum toward N.C. State. At 165 pounds, Duke’s normal starter Steve Smith had to sit out because of a skin ailment, forcing sophomore Adam Lesser into the lineup. Lesser was up a weight from what he normally wrestles, and N.C. State’s Ryan Nowicki used his size advantage to pin Lesser 1:58 into the match.
The 174-pound weight class was anticipated to be more evenly contested. Duke’s Levi Craig was the ACC champion at that weight a year ago, but the Wolfpack’s Kevin Gabrielson has wrestled strong all season and entered Wednesday night with a 15-8 record. The match, however, was one-sided, as Gabrielson pinned Craig just 43 seconds into their bout.
“He just caught me with a move I wasn’t ready for,” Craig said after the match. “All I can do now is learn from it and get ready to wrestle him again at the ACC’s.”
Duke head coach Clar Anderson said the decision at the 174-pound weight class won the match for N.C. State.
“We were really expecting to get a win there,” Anderson said. “That pin was a nine point swing from what we were expecting and really took us out of it.”
Duke took some of the momentum away from N.C. State in the next two matches. Frank Cornely won a major decision at 184 pounds to bring the Blue Devils within 15, and Mark Thompson earned a technical fall at 197 pounds over Wolfpack backup wrestler Jeremy Colbert to put Duke within reach at 19-9.
Though three matches remained, the final outcome seemed to rest in the heavyweight result. Duke’s Venroy July was 60 pounds lighter than his opponent Jainor Palma, but July had a quickness advantage. In the end, however, Palma was able to use his weight to win a 2-1 victory and put N.C. State ahead 22-9.
“It is definitely hard to wrestle someone who weighs a lot more than you,” July said. “I just tried to do what I do and unfortunately he was just a little better this time.”
Kellan McKeon lost a close decision at 125 pounds before two impressive Blue Devil victories closed the match. At 133 pounds, Duke’s Bryan Gibson dominated Jeremy Hartrum, a former ACC runner-up, en route to a third-period pin. Wes Kuser’s match at 141 pounds went into a second tie-breaker before an escape, a takedown and three back points earned Kuser the 9-3 victory.
“Bryan Gibson has been wrestling tremendously,” Anderson said. “He has improved so much this year and he could do very well in the postseason.”
With the loss, Duke finished the regular season 9-5 overall and 2-3 in the ACC. The Blue Devils finished fourth in the conference, a disappointment after last year’s team tied for first.
The Blue Devils are now preparing for the ACC Tournament. Several individuals have a chance to place high, but Duke first has to work on a change in attitude, Anderson noted.
“We need to be more aggressive,” Anderson said. “In wrestling, the aggressive wrestler wins, and right now we need to work on being the aggressive wrestler.”
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