In its final dual of a difficult season, Duke suffered a 34-9 dual defeat to No. 3 NC State Friday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The loss ensures a winless record on the season for the Blue Devils, though the team picked up three individual wins.
Redshirt sophomore Benjamin Anderson got Duke (0-17, 0-5 in the ACC) on the board at the 165-pound weight class with a dominant 7-1 decision win against N.C. State redshirt freshman Matt Fields. After a scoreless opening period, Field chose bottom to start the second. Fields earned an escape point, but Anderson responded with a clean cutback double and rode Fields out for the remainder of the period. The third period was all Anderson, as he immediately escaped and scored a quick go-behind takedown off of an errant shot from Fields. On top, Anderson forced a stalling point from Fields and again rode out the period to secure an additional riding time point. The decision over Fields gave Anderson his fourth win in the last five matches.
Blue Devil redshirt freshman Mason Eaglin responded to Anderson’s performance with a win of his own at 174 pounds. Eaglin faced off against redshirt freshman Tyler Barnes and ultimately posted a 6-2 decision victory. Barnes and Eaglin wrestled to a scoreless first before Eaglin chose bottom and immediately escaped to start the second period. From there, Eaglin fired off a single and finished out the backdoor to take a 3-0 lead. Like Anderson, Eaglin prevented his opponent from escaping for the rest of the second period. In the final period, Eaglin conceded an escape point to Barnes before scoring another takedown off of a low double. Barnes escaped to make the match 5-2, but wasn’t able to get his offense going late. Eaglin added a riding point and secured the decision win.
At 197 pounds, Duke freshman Vincent Baker won the match of the night against Wolfpack sophomore Tyrie Houghton. Baker scored a pair of takedowns and a reversal to take a 6-2 lead in the second period. But Houghton began his comeback campaign after escaping at the end of the period. Houghton escaped to start the third, then followed with a takedown to tie the match at 6-6. Visibly tired, Baker struggled to work from bottom and was mat returned by Houghton after getting to his feet. But with seconds left on the clock, Baker finally escaped and scored the match-winning point to win 7-6.
Outside of their three wins, the Blue Devils failed to score any takedowns against the Wolfpack (15-0, 5-0). Duke has struggled mightily this season, with a winless dual record. A combination of injuries and stars graduating led the Blue Devils’ dual roster to be filled with true freshmen and forfeited weight classes.
Duke will look to reverse its fortunes in the postseason, as it will compete in the ACC championships in Pittsburgh March 8.
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