Duke’s wrestling squad combines seasoned experience with new talent as the full team heads into competition for the first time this year.
The Blue Devils head to Salem, Va., to compete in the Hokie Open Sunday, facing opponents from twelve schools. This will be their first contest wrestling for Duke after an individual tournament at the Citadel Open last weekend.
“We’re excited about the competition, we’ve been chomping at the bit, it’s been a long summer for us,” head coach Glen Lanham said. “We’re just ready to see somebody in a different color singlet.”
Duke was successful at last year’s open, with then-redshirt freshman Conner Hartmann claiming the 197-pound title and then-redshirt senior Diego Bencomo finishing runner-up in the 184-pound division. Hartmann will look to repeat last year’s success at the Hokie Open, but there are a few spots in the lineup that were left open after Bencomo and others graduated at the end of last year. True freshman Jacob Kasper will replace Bencomo in the 184-pound division, and the Blue Devils will also start true freshman Xaviel Ramos in the 141-pound slot.
“I’d like to see a couple of champions, some of those younger guys getting up in the placing rounds,” Lanham said. “It’s a long season, so right now I just want to see us start off like we did last year, wrestling the whole seven minutes and wrestling at every position—that’s our goal.”
The Blue Devils will also start redshirt freshman Evan Botwin in the 125-pound space left open by the team’s other graduating starter, Peter Terrezza. In their first opportunity to contribute to a team effort, Botwin, Kasper and Ramos will look to returning starters like Hartmann to lead Duke in the tournament on Sunday.
“We’ve got some young guys this season and some veterans too—[Senior] Brian Self at heavyweight and Brendan Walsh, a redshirt sophomore at heavyweight—so I feel like we’ve got a nice mix.” Lanham said.
Last season, Hartmann and redshirt junior Brandon Gambucci qualified for the NCAA Championship, but despite their individual success, the Blue Devil season ended with a team record below .500. This year’s schedule will be just as challenging as the 2012-13 season, but Lanham said both he and the team are looking forward to the competition.
Competing in Salem will serve as preparation for Duke before they head immediately into two tough tournaments on the road against No. 23 Purdue Nov. 16 and Indiana the following day.
“It’s the Big Ten, so those guys have a lot of pride in their wrestling down there.” Lanham said. “It’s going to be a nice little road test for our guys…. We’re going to have to get tough early, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”
The Hokie Open will have its fair share of talented wrestlers squaring off against the Blue Devils, including individuals from hosting team No. 8 Virginia Tech, as well as from No. 14 Virginia and No. 20 Wisconsin. Duke could also face individuals from two other ACC foes, N.C. State and rival North Carolina.
“We talk about getting guys battle tested, and that’s what we want to do” Lanham said. “You’re winning or learning, so that’s what we’re going to plan on doing right now up until the ACC’s and the national tournament.”
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