Duke wrestling falls at Virginia on short turnaround

After being knocked to the mat early, the Blue Devils could not rally in a conference showdown once again this season on the road.

Despite wrestling with a full lineup for three straight duals, Duke was shorthanded once again Friday as it failed to capture its first win in ACC play with a 22-12 defeat at the hands of No. 19 Virginia at Memorial Gym in Charlottesville, Va. The Blue Devils fell into an early 10-0 hole following a forfeit at 133 pounds, and four total wins in the lineup were not enough to dig them back out.

In the most compelling matchup of the night, No. 5 Conner Hartmann faced off against No. 10 Zach Nye at 197 pounds in a rematch of top-10 foes. Hartmann dispatched Nye at the Southern Scuffle in early January with an easy 5-0 decision, but the Cavalier grappler proved more difficult the second time around.

Hartmann got an early takedown in the first period, but Nye scored a quick reversal to even the score at 2-2. Following escapes late in the first and at the beginning of the second, Hartmann held a 4-2 advantage with just one period remaining. Nye scored a quick escape after starting down and nearly scored the takedown he needed to avenge his earlier loss by grabbing Hartmann’s leg, but the Blue Devil fended off the shot and held his 4-3 lead to the buzzer for the win.

With the victory, the redshirt senior grabbed his 88th career victory—tied for eighth-best in program history—and moved to 6-1 against ranked opponents to match his 11-0 dual ledger in his final campaign.

Duke (4-7, 0-3 in the ACC) did not have much luck against Virginia’s lineup the rest of the night, though. The Cavaliers (6-4, 1-2) scored a major decision, a forfeit and four decision victories—including three by four or more points—to put the Blue Devils away.

Aside from Hartmann’s victory, Zach Finesilver, No. 10 Mitch Finesilver and Jake Faust also scored wins in the losing effort. Zach Finesilver battled to his 20th victory of the season with an 8-3 decision at 141 pounds by way of a dominant second and third period. Twin brother Mitch Finesilver extended his winning streak to 11 with a 6-0 shutout victory that was punctuated by four points in the final frame. Like Hartmann, the 149-pounder is 11-0 in duals this season.

Faust had the most compelling comeback of the night at 165 pounds after falling behind 9-3 against Fox Baldwin in the second period. The redshirt junior scored an escape and takedown before the end of the second to tighten up the match, 9-6, and a dominant third period ensured him a 16-12 victory.