Duke’s losing streak continued Friday as the team fell to archrival North Carolina by a score of 41-9. The loss meant the Blue Devils finished the regular season with a 4-13 record and without a win in five conference meets. Duke has failed to take a single match in the ACC for six consecutive seasons, stretching back to a 19-16 victory against Virginia in 2018.
Despite the loss, the Blue Devils fought valiantly against the Tar Heels. Veterans Christian Coleman (141 pounds) and Gaetano Console (165 pounds) came close to notching victories against Jace Palmer and Isaias Estrada, respectively, before narrowly falling to their respective opponents. What’s more, freshman Raymond Adams (133 pounds) and redshirt freshman captain Connor Barket (285 pounds) earned dominant victories to dull the sour taste of Duke’s defeat. Adam’s victory marked the Merrick, N.Y. native’s first ACC win of his career, and prompted head coach Glen Lanham to praise the young wrestler’s aggressiveness.
“He took a couple of big steps in that match and really started to put his offense together,” Lanham said after the match. “He's a very offensive [wrestler] when he gets to his attack, so I was pleased with that. He took some coaching, worked on it [during] the week, took it into the match and it worked for him.”
Throughout the season, Lanham has emphasized his wrestlers’ difficulties in applying what they learn in practice onto their matches against tough opponents. This problem has been particularly prevalent among the younger Blue Devils on the team, many of whom have never wrestled against opposition as physically and fundamentally sound as that in the ACC. Adams’ performance Friday marked a significant improvement in this respect.
“It’s getting these guys to trust what we’re saying and what we’re seeing and translating it into the match,” Lanham said. “And [Adams] did that. It was an outstanding job on his part of moving forward, attacking and being aggressive. So he did some really good things that match and he’s starting to make real gains.”
Barket’s 20-4 victory by technical fall was another big bright spot for the Blue Devils (4-13, 0-5 in the ACC) on the day. The West Lafayette, Ind., native improved to 16-16 overall, continuing to solidify himself as one of the team’s biggest and most consistent stars.
“I’m starting to see him string it together,” Lanham said. “He’s starting to wrestle big, like a heavyweight should. He’s kinda used to wrestling in that 195-pounds high school range, but now he’s starting to wrestle big like a heavyweight … and is showing some big-time improvements.”
On March 10, the Blue Devils will begin postseason play at the ACC tournament back in Chapel Hill, hoping to use solid outings by Adams and Barket to propel Duke to a positive end to a difficult season.
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