Duke was out of its element in more ways than one Wednesday night.
Its home meet against North Carolina wasn't even at home. Its usual wrestlers weren't out on the mat. And it wasn't pretty.
Although the Blue Devils (7-5, 0-2 in the ACC) gave a commendable effort against the Tar Heels (7-6, 4-1), there was just too much working against them as UNC came away with a 30-12 win.
Duke was originally scheduled to take on the Tar Heels in Cameron Indoor Stadium, hoping to draw legitimate student support. But when the Hoophall Classic was scheduled in the meet's place, it was moved to Chapel Hill High School. Nevertheless, the Blue Devils made the best of the circumstances.
"A lot of people came, many high school kids stayed-it was an exciting venue," Duke head coach Clar Anderson said. "I think [the team] handled [the move] well and really stepped up."
Duke headed into the gymnasium for its home dual meet with its forces depleted. Anderson blamed a widespread flu virus along with an injury bug, which has haunted the Blue Devils throughout the year.
"A lot of guys were called on to bump up [weight classes] to wrestle," Anderson said.
At the 133-pound weight class, junior captain Bryan Gibson-who may miss the rest of the year with a hand injury-was replaced by freshman Chris Thumen, who normally wrestles in the 125-pound weight class. Thumen was asked to wrestle UNC's two-time All-American senior Evan Sola, and Anderson said the freshman held his own.
"He fought right to the end," Anderson said. "He really did a marvelous job."
The performances of freshman Voris Tejada and sophomore Aaron Glover were other bright spots for the Blue Devils.
When both the 157-pound weight class' starter and backup were unable to wrestle, Tejada moved up from the 149-pound weight class and won with a two-point takedown in a dramatic overtime match.
Glover, who leads Duke with nine dual meet victories, lost 6-2 to Keegan Muller-who is ranked 14th in the nation-in a disputable fight.
"In the scramble the scoring could have gone either way," Anderson said.
After a trying bout with North Carolina, Anderson said the Blue Devils will need to get back on track before their next meet at Virginia Feb. 10.
"We're going to give them a few days to recuperate," he said.
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