Despite fielding 15 wrestlers across 10 different weight classes, only three Blue Devils won their opening-round matchups, while just two placed in the top five of their respective weight classes.
After a disastrous opening weekend in which Duke only won two of 30 matches against Rutgers, Cal Poly and Stanford, the Blue Devils bounced back in a major way during their triple-header in Morgantown, W. Va., Sunday.
Duke won just two out of its 30 matches in its West Coast trip last weekend, falling in duels to No. 15 Rutgers 47-0 and Cal Poly 38-6 Friday, and Stanford 41-0 Saturday.
The Blue Devils enter the 2023-2024 season as hungry underdogs with a chip on their shoulders. With a mixture of seasoned veterans and emerging young talent, the team will hope to bounce back after last season’s underwhelming performances this time around.
After exiting the NCAA Championships with a 1-2 record, senior heavyweight Jonah Niesenbaum reflected on the season and the team's goals moving forward.
Niesenbaum nearly captured his first conference title, but fell just short in the final round.
On Sunday, Jonah Niesenbaum will compete on the ACC's biggest stage as the favorite in the heavyweight division. This is the story of how he got here.
Duke capped off a winless ACC season with a Saturday defeat at Pittsburgh, but Jonah Niesenbaum was a bright spot once again.
Duke stayed winless in the ACC on the road Friday at Virginia.
“We didn’t match their intensity,” Lanham said. “Just a bad showing. We got to have some fights. We didn't have that tonight, we really just kind of laid down.”
Duke faced its toughest test of the season last week. It proved to be just as difficult as expected.
Coming off of a lopsided 35-4 defeat at the hands of Central Michigan the night before, Duke lost at the hands of archnemesis North Carolina 37-6 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke floundered at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., finishing tied for 18th place with Virginia.
Duke started the day on a high note, winning against Franklin and Marshall 19-18, but later fell to VMI 28-9.
Senior captain Jonah Niesenbaum continued his excellent grappling, winning the heavyweight division in a tight overtime contest.
Duke senior Jonah Niesenbaum placed first in the heavyweight division at the Battle at the Citadel in Charleston, S.C.
After two straight seasons without a win, Duke improved mightily last season, finishing the year 7-10.
Josh and Matt, both seniors, potentially competed in their last collegiate matches in last week's NCAA championships.
Though the Blue Devils didn't finish with a victory or a higher placement than they have seen in recent years, the Blue Devils had some success on their side, sending two wrestlers to NCAA Championships beginning Thursday.
The Blue Devils competed three times over eight days, facing a win and two losses to bring themselves up to a 7-9 record, which also marks the most victories the team has had since the 2014-15 season.
