When freshman heavyweight Levi Karnehm stepped onto the mat Saturday night against Maryland's James Taylor, the match was on the line. It was not the last match of the night; in fact it was the seventh, but the Blue Devils needed to win the final three bouts to beat the Terrapins.
One minute into the first period, things looked extremely bleak for Duke. Taylor used a 60-pound weight advantage and a quick headlock to earn himself a takedown, three near-fall points and a 5-0 lead.
Karnehm could have given up, but he fought through and lost his headgear in the process. In fact, the match continued without either wrestler using headgear, characterizing the match between the Blue Devils and Terps-hard-nosed.
Karnehm would use his speed as an advantage against the heavier Taylor, getting a reversal and two takedowns in the final period to energize his teammates and the crowd in the process. However, the bout ended before Karnehm could complete a comeback. Taylor won 11-8, clinching the match for the Terrapins.
"I can't say enough about Levi's heart," Blue Devils coach Clar Anderson said. "We were surprised to see him fight back and lose by such a small margin."
The heavyweight bout was typical of the Blue Devils' night. Each bout was extremely physical and emotional, but more often than not, the end result was a Terrapin raising his arm in victory. Maryland (4-4, 1-1 in the ACC) wound up winning seven of 10 individual matches, beating the Blue Devils (11-7, 0-3) by a 22-10 margin.
Maryland opened the match by winning the first two bouts and taking an early 7-0 lead. Duke's Josh Sheridan (157 pounds) handled the Terrapins' Rob Booth from the opening whistle, using an early drag-trip for a 2-1 advantage after the first period. Sheridan would get two more take downs, beating Booth 6-4 and closing Duke to a 7-3 deficit.
Duke was very close to an enormous momentum change during the next bout at 165 pounds.
Freshman Tim Marcantonio had two deep shots in the first period, but he was not able to finish the takedowns against Maryland's Josh Weidman. Weidman, a junior, was an NCAA qualifier and ACC runner-up last season. The match remained scoreless until the third period when Weidman scored a reversal. He went on to win the match 3-0, making the team score 10-3 in favor of the Terps.
"[Maryland's coaching staff] took notice of our freshmen tonight," Anderson said of Marcantonio's performance, as well as those by Sheridan, Karnehm and Frank Cornely. "That's the ultimate compliment."
After the Blue Devils dropped the 174- and 184-pound weight classes, 197-pound Daegan Smith scored Duke's second victory of the evening, a 7-3 decision over Maryland's Bob Vorhies. Tommy Hoang (125 pounds) would score the last of Duke's points, wrestling his most impressive match of the season, a 13-2 throttling of Joe Guzzio.
After beginning the dual meet season with success, the Blue Devils have run into difficulty as of late. Duke has dropped its last three matches, all ACC bouts.
The defeats have frustrated some wrestlers, as their matches count not only for team points, but for individual seeding in the conference tournament as well.
"We're giving too much respect to our opponents," Anderson said. "We're trying to take it up to the next level."
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