Coming off an undefeated dual season, redshirt senior Jacob Kasper rose into the spotlight once again Saturday, sending Duke to the NCAA championships in style.
Kasper captured his first ACC championship and the 32nd in program history in Chapel Hill Saturday, as the Blue Devils finished fourth in the ACC for just the second time since 2005.
The top-seeded Kasper extended his season record to 34-2 with victory. The Lexington, Ohio native has not lost a bout since Dec. 2 and is just three wins shy of the Duke single-season record.
The top seed in his weight class and third-ranked player in the nation, Kasper mounted a late comeback in the championship match, rallying from a 4-0 deficit against North Carolina’s Cory Daniel with eight unanswered points to take home the title.
Kasper was one of four Blue Devils to advance to the NCAA championships, with brothers Matt, Mitch and Zach Finesilver also earning invitations to wrestling’s final weekend. The four Blue Devils advancing to the NCAA championships is tied for the second-most in program history.
Redshirt junior Zach Finesilver turned in the performance of the day Saturday, using back-to-back upsets to secure an at-large bid to the championships. The sixth-seeded Finesilver followed up an early 12-6 overtime upset victory against No. 3 Brian Hamann from N.C. State, with a dominant 8-3 performance against No. 2 Andrew Atkinson in the semifinals. The cinderella story ended there, however, with Finesilver falling to top-seeded David McFadden of Virginia Tech in the championship bout.
Zach’s twin Mitch Finesilver, the second seed in the 157-pound class, dominated Kennedy Monday from North Carolina in the semifinals, advancing to the final round with a 6-0 victory. He would also secure an at-large bid to nationals after falling just short of a title with a 3-2 defeat to Hayden Hidlay of N.C. State.
Lastly, the third brother to advance was freshman Matt Finesilver, seeded third at 174 pounds. Finesilver fell 10-1 in the quarterfinals, but he turned it on in the consolation semifinals, using a thrilling third-period comeback to get by Will Schany of Virginia 3-2, advancing to the consolation finals and earning him a spot in the NCAA championships.
The four qualifiers will look to earn national success in the NCAA championships March 15-17 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
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Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113. Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.