In the final match of the night with the dual on the line, Duke redshirt freshman Aidan Wallace earned a critical victory to put the Blue Devils on top.
Duke clashed with Davidson in historic Cameron Indoor Stadium Friday night, prevailing 22-21 on the back of Wallace’s heroics. The Blue Devils improved to 3-6 on the season, including back-to-back wins for the first time in over a year.
“It's a good start. Winning your dual at home, a lot of excitement there. There was a good crowd,” Head coach Glen Lanham said.
It was a back-and-forth affair all evening long, and neither team could pull away from its opponent. Freshman Vincent Lee earned a pin in the third match of the evening, and Connor Barket followed it up with a pin of his own, putting Duke up 16-5 with six matches remaining.
“Both of those guys are really starting to put together a good run for us. Hopefully it will all come together for them at the end of the season,” Lanham said of Lee and Barket’s performances. “But right now you have to have something to build for, and that's what I think they're doing really well.”
Despite the deficit, the Wildcats stuck around, clawing their way back to regain the lead heading into the final match of the dual. With Davidson leading 21-19, it was time for Wallace to step up against Bryce Griffin.
“He's been in big situations like that before, so it was just good to see him. He was a little tight, and he admitted that at the end.” Lanham said. “But Aiden just stuck to his guns and really, really attacked.”
The first period had a nervous energy, and neither wrestler seemed eager to risk anything big. It ended scoreless, and Wallace knew that he needed to dig deep to produce the win for his team.
The second and third period were still relatively tight, but they were absolutely vital for the Blue Devils. In the second, Wallace recorded a takedown to put himself ahead in the match, and in the third he secured his 4-0 decision victory with an escape. His triumph earned three points towards the final score, and gave Duke the edge it needed to narrowly defeat the Wildcats.
“One thing about our guy which I liked was that he was trying to win the match. He was in and he was attacking. Wrestle your match and get to your attacks, and good things will happen,” Lanham said. “Overall it was a big match. And you have a guy that's a redshirt freshman coming out and trying to put it together to win it for the team. So it was just a good experience for him.”
The next test for the Blue Devils will come at home Dec. 22 against VMI.
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