The woes of Duke's regular season continued into the postseason as the Blue Devils finished last out of six teams at the ACC Championships Saturday in Lexington, Va.
Duke scored only 14 team points in the meet-76.5 behind North Carolina, which defended its ACC title. N.C. State followed in second with 64 team points.
The Blue Devils struggled primarily in the lower weight classes-Duke wrestlers in each of the five lowest classes lost both their opening round matches and consolation bouts.
"We are a very young team in a tough conference," head coach Clar Anderson said. "We expected to compete a little better, but we are competing against five fully-funded programs."
Despite the Blue Devils' disappointing finish, sophomore Konrad Dudziak claimed third place in the 197-pound weight class. After losing his first-round match, Dudziak won his two consolation matches-one against Maryland's Jerry Afari, who defeated Dudziak earlier this season.
"He pinned an opponent who had beaten him earlier in the year," Anderson said. "I fought hard for him to go to nationals."
Dudziak, however, did not earn a NCAA bid, ending the hopes of any of the Blue Devils for further postseason competition.
"I'm hoping they take the sting of defeat as motivation to prepare this summer for next season," Anderson said. "I hope they can step up and compete."
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