While the rest of the student body enjoys its spring break, the Blue Devils will stay inside on the mats at the World’s Most Famous Arena looking to bring back gold for a blossoming program in Durham.
With the rest of the season fading in the rearview mirror, No. 22 Duke will send four grapplers to New York to square off against the nation’s best in search of a title at Madison Square Garden in the NCAA championships Thursday through Saturday. After finishing 28th last season, the Blue Devils will look to capitalize on having two seeded grapplers—just the second time in program history—to cap off another historic year for the program.
“I feel like we’re definitely a top-20 team. Now it’s just time to prove it,” Duke head coach Glen Lanham said. “We’ve got guys that are going there that can score points for us and we’ve just got to get out there and get them. We’re definitely capable of doing that.”
Redshirt senior Conner Hartmann, redshirt junior Jake Faust, sophomore Mitch Finesilver and redshirt freshman Zach Finesilver will represent Duke in the Big Apple this week. Hartmann received the No. 5 seed at 197 pounds in his fourth and final tournament, Mitch Finesilver grabbed the No. 14 seed at 149 pounds in his second chance on the national stage and Faust and Zach Finesilver are unseeded at 165 and 141 pounds, respectively, heading into their NCAA tournament debuts.
After bulldozing his way to a second consecutive ACC title last time out, Hartmann is on the prowl for his third consecutive All-America honor for the Blue Devils with a career-high seeding at the NCAA tournament. With only one loss this season, the 197-pounder will face off against Pittsburgh’s Nick Bonaccorsi in the first round—against whom he is 5-0 in his career—setting up a rematch with a familiar ACC foe in either No. 12 Michael Boykin of N.C. State or North Carolina’s Chip Ness in round two.
“They had no choice [but to give Conner a high seed this year] I felt like. They overlooked him so many times, I think it would be egg in the face if they overlooked him again,” Lanham said. “As far as being comfortable…I think just knowing that you’ve wrestled those guys, you’ve felt them before, it’s nothing new, so obviously, I think he would feel pretty comfortable about the situation he’s in right now. I know I am. I think anytime you go and you look all the way to the finals and you’ve pretty much beaten everybody—if it comes out like the way it’s supposed to—I would feel comfortable about that.”
Fellow All-ACC selection Mitch Finesilver will look to build off of his second straight runner-up finish in the ACC tournament to make a run at the national title as well. Last season, the Greenwood Village, Colo., native saw his tournament run end on day one, but this time around, he will hope to stick around for the weekend.
The 149-pounder will face freshman Steve Galiardo in the first round in the two’s first career meeting. The Brown grappler received an at-large berth to compete last week and boasts a 21-8 record this season.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot [since last season]. This year, I’m trying to stay calm. Last year, I think the lights got to me and I didn’t perform like I wanted to,” Finesilver said. “I feel pretty good [with my bracket placement]. Honestly, for me, seeds don’t matter a ton. I’ve got to go out and wrestle hard every time. It’s the NCAA championships—anything can happen. Every year we see top guys get upset and so you’ve got to be ready, no matter who it’s against.”
After dropping his first two ACC tournament matches and being forced into a do-or-die situation to capture the conference’s final automatic bid at 165-pounds to nationals, Faust will look to right the ship in The Garden. The redshirt junior is 5-1 against ranked opponents this season, and will look to topple another series of giants en route to a podium finish.
Faust will strap on his headgear against No. 12 Conor Brennan of Rider in his first match of the tournament. The senior won the EWL title at his weight for the Broncs with a 26-3 record in his final campaign.
“I’m definitely not satisfied. My goal at the beginning of the year was never really to be a national qualifier,” Faust said. “Obviously, I want to be an All-American. And I think also there’s not really a looking back and saying, ‘Oh, I wrestled well.’ It’s ‘I want to be an All-American’ and that’s all there is to it. No matter what I have to do, I want to be an All-American.”
With one Finesilver battling his way through the bracket at 149 pounds, twin brother Zach Finesilver will look to make the most of his first outing under the bright lights of the big stage. Although the 141-pounder snagged an automatic berth with a fourth-place finish at the conference tournament, Finesilver will start his week with a pigtail match against Appalachian State’s Michael Longo—an opponent he defeated 7-6 in the Blue Devils’ first dual meet of the season Dec. 15.
A victory against Longo would enable the freshman to secure extra points for Dukeand earn him a chance to face off against No. 12 Chris Mecate of Old Dominion in the first round of competition.
“For the most part what I’m thinking [facing Longo again] is, ‘When I wrestled him first I didn’t feel like I wrestled the best match I could put together.’ So it really motivates me to wrestle solid throughout this next match,” Finesilver said. “I remember my freshman year of high school at the state tournament I just thought, ‘There’s nothing to lose,’ so I just want to go out there and wrestle like there’s nothing to lose.”
With their seasons on the line, the four Blue Devils will kick off their title bids Thursday at noon.
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