Three days of success were quickly forgotten in one humiliating hour yesterday.
Following convincing road wins against both Campbell and Gardner-Webb, the wrestling team was thoroughly defeated, 31-7, by Virginia (5-6, 2-2 in the ACC) in Cameron Indoor Stadium last night. Duke's worst loss of the season snapped the team's two-game winning streak and kept the Blue Devils (3-11-1, 0-3) winless in conference play.
Duke started off well as sophomore Tommy Hoang battled Steve Garland, one of the nation's top wrestlers in the 125-pound weight class before dropping a minor decision.
Sean Meakim followed Hoang's performance with the most impressive match of the evening for Duke. Capitalizing on takedowns with six seconds left in the second period and two seconds left in the third period, Meakim managed to record a major decision out of what began as a dead locked match. The final takedown with two seconds left in the match and a one-point bonus in riding time earned the Blue Devils four team points, giving them their first and only lead of the night.
But it was all downhill after that. During the next six matches, the Cavaliers simply dominated. UVa claimed all six bouts, including a major decision and two pins.
"[The Cavaliers] were probably upset and had more motivation to take [their earlier loss to N.C. State] out on us, I guess," coach Clar Anderson said. "So instead of us winning the close ones, they won the close ones, which made this such an unbalanced match."
Only one of the next four bouts was ever close, though.
Junior Deuce Harris, wrestling at 157-lbs. in his second match after being sidelined with an injury to his back, lost a sudden-death decision following a 5-5 draw. Harris was defeated only 12 seconds into the extra period as he limped off the mat gingerly, favoring his right ankle. His status for Wednesday's match against ACC leader N.C. State is unknown pending X-rays today.
Following Harris' defeat, freshman Mike Mitchell aggressively attacked Virginia's Brian Muir and recorded a takedown less than a minute into the first period. Mitchell was caught off guard 18 seconds into the second period, however, when Muir garnered three back points before landing the pin seven seconds later. Muir's pin earned Virginia another six team points and extended its lead to 22-4.
"When you wrestle freshmen, they make freshman mistakes," Anderson said. "If we wrestle that kid again, I think we'll beat him. [Mitchell] just got caught on his back and that kid capitalized on it. They're an aggressive team and they look for the pin, and he just gave him an opening."
After two more defeats, sophomore Daegan Smith finally snapped the string of six losses with a minor decision over Jimi Massey. Smith's victory gave the Blue Devils seven points, their lowest total since an early-season, 28-6 loss to Seton Hall.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.