After a 22-20 loss to then-No. 15 Oregon State, the Blue Devils knew they were capable of posting more strong finishes in a home dual against No. 18 Wisconsin and at the Wolfpack Open Sunday.
Although they fell in another close match to the Badgers, Duke gained more momentum to take into a break that will extend into early January.
The Blue Devils fell behind Wisconsin 19-9 after six matches before battling back to get within 22-17 heading into the 10th and final match of the day at Card Gym. Duke's Xaviel Ramos fell to Andrew Crone in an 11-9 decision to give the Badgers a 25-17 win, but the Blue Devils got a first-place finish from redshirt junior heavyweight Jacob Kasper and second-place results from senior Connor Bass at 174 pounds and junior Mitch Finesilver at 157 pounds Sunday at N.C. State.
The lasting image from the weekend, though, was Duke's gritty effort against a top-20 opponent Friday in its second dual of the year.
“Ten years ago, teams didn’t celebrate when they beat Duke. We had Wisconsin going crazy when they won,” Blue Devil head coach Glen Lanham told GoDuke.com.
Duke got off to a strong start against Wisconsin when redshirt sophomore Joey Abbate pinned Wisconsin's Izaec Quintanilla in the third period of their match at 157 pounds to give the home team a 6-0 lead.
Despite trailing 7-1 after the second period, Abbate notched his first pin of the year.
“With his athleticism and ability to get to offense, he’s a perfect example of a guy who just refuses to lose,” Lanham said.
The Blue Devil lead did not last long as No. 2 Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin pinned Blue Devil Michael Wright at 165 pounds, then Ryan Christensen earned a key 12-7 decision against Bass—one of Duke's top wrestlers—at 174 pounds to put the Badgers up 9-6.
Blue Devil junior Alec Schenk evened the score with a 6-3 decision at 184 pounds, but Wisconsin responded yet again when Ricky Robertson got four points with a major decision against Duke's Alex Belaia-Martiniouk and freshman Ben Stone shocked Kasper—the 16th-ranked heavyweight in the country—by pinning him less than two minutes into their heavyweight bout.
But the Blue Devils refused to give up down 19-9, with junior Thayer Atkins earning a 5-2 decision at 125 pounds by breaking a 2-2 tie in the third period. Cole Baumgartner fell in a 7-2 decision at 133 pounds to put the deficit back at 10, but redshirt sophomore Zach Finesilver cut the lead in half with a dominant five-minute technical fall thanks to a 17-0 lead at 141 pounds.
Zach Finesilver's performance set up the final bout of the night, but Ramos could not protect his early lead and ended up dropping his matchup with Crone.
“Obviously for these guys, just some missed opportunities. Our record is 0-2 and we’re a much better team than that,” Lanham said. “If I could grade us, I’d give us a B.”
After Friday's disappointing showing, Kasper, a redshirt junior, bounced back in a big way Sunday, recording five wins to capture his second tournament title of the season. He knocked off N.C. State's Mike Kosoy 15-4 via major decision in the championship bout.
“Big wrestlers wrestle in big moments, and I told him that he has to look at himself as a big wrestler," Lanham said.
Bass won his first four bouts to set up a rematch with Christensen, and although Sunday's battle was much closer and scoreless until almost the very end, the result was the same. Christensen escaped late in an overtime period to seal the 1-0 win.
Mitch Finesilver wrestled unattached at 157 pounds Sunday, knocking off an NCAA qualifier on his way to the title. In the bout against N.C. State's Hayden Hilday, however, his run ended after a 5-2 loss.
The trio that advanced to championship rounds was not alone in posting several wins Sunday, as Baumgartner took third at 133 pounds and Atkins and Zach Finesilver placed fifth at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively.
After its busy weekend, Duke will return to the mat for the Southern Scuffle Jan. 1-2 and hopes to improve in its substantial time off.
“It’s just a confidence thing right now. Our guys have got to believe that we can compete," Lanham said. "That’s part of being a great wrestler—just believing."
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