Duke Wrestlers Drop Tough Meet At N.C. State 26-15

Wednesday, January 10

Raleigh, N.C.

7:30 p.m.

Duke University

N.C. State

GoDuke.com Q&A With Wrestler Philip Wightman

Duke Wrestlers Drop Tough Meet At N.C. State 26-15

1/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

By: Duke Sports Information

RALEIGH, N.C. ? Duke (3-3, 0-1 ACC) put up a strong showing Wednesday night in Raleigh against N.C. State (6-4, 1-0 ACC), but it was not quite enough to pull off an upset. Despite going up against three nationally ranked wrestlers and having to forfeit one weight class due to injury, the Blue Devils were in the meet until the last match of the evening, but the Wolfpack prevailed 26-15.

The meet started off at 125 pounds, where junior Kellan McKeon went on the offensive against the typically defensive Taylor Cummings of N.C. State. McKeon was unable to score a point, however, and lost his second straight match by one point, 1-0.

Duke was forced to forfeit their match at 133 pounds due to an injury to freshman Spencer Jasper. That gave N.C. State a 9-0 lead to begin the meet.

At 141 pounds, senior Philip Wightman put in the most dominating performance for the Blue Devils, pinning Jake Smith at 5:42 of their match. It was Wightman's first fall of the year, and narrowed the N.C. State lead to 9-6.

In the fourth matchup of the evening, senior Daniel Shvartsman lost a close decision to the Wolfpack's Joe Caramanica, 4-2 at 149 pounds. Caramanica was an NCAA tournament qualifier last year. The loss denied Shvartsman career win number 77. He currently ranks 12th in Duke history, three wins behind Jim Walsh in 11th place, and 29 wins behind all-time leader Bradd Weber.

Sophomore Addison Nuding ran into the first of three nationally ranked N.C. State wrestlers at 157 pounds. No. 19 Kody Hamrah scored a major decision over Nuding, 11-3. Despite the loss, Nuding fought hard throughout the match, denying Hamrah a pin or technical fall.

Going into the 165 pound weight class, Duke found themselves down 16-6, but the meet was far from over. Redshirt sophomore Aaron Glover handily beat Jalil Dozier 8-1, narrowly missing a major decision. It was an impressive win for Glover, who moved his record above .500 to 11-10 on the season.

At 174 pounds, redshirt freshman John Barone fought back from a 4-1 first period deficit to defeat Randy Goodman 6-4. Barone continues to excel for the Blue Devils this season. His 15-6 record is best among the team, he has the second most wins on the squad, and he is tied for the team-lead in pins with five.

The most dramatic and surprising match of the night was at 184 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Dan Tulley was able to win a 5-2 decision over Jeremy Colbert, cutting the Wolfpack lead to 16-15.

“What was impressive about (Dan) Tulley's win was that we brought him back from injury tonight,” said Coach Clar Anderson after the meet. “Even more amazing was that the opponent he beat was the ACC champion at that weight last year, and it was only Dan's second win of the season.”

As close as the Blue Devils were able to get, it slipped away in the last two matches. Redshirt junior Patrick Keenum ran into No. 13 Ryan Goodman at 197 pounds and put up strong showing, but was defeated in a major decision 9-1. At the heavyweight class, redshirt freshman Mike Tunick went against another of N.C. State's ranked wrestlers, No. 18 Jainor Palma. Palma pinned Tunick at 1:06 of their match, ending the meet and dashing Duke's hopes of an upset.

“We won four of the nine matches we competed in, and we're really pleased with that,” said Anderson. “Considering we had to forfeit one weight class and they (N.C. State) were favored in most of the matches, I'm happy with our effort.”

Duke will compete next in Murrysville, Pa., in a quad meet against Duquesne, York, and Apprentice on Sat., Jan. 20. The meet will start at 4 p.m. The Blue Devils will return home on Wed., Jan. 24, for a tri-meet with The Citadel and Campbell. That meet will start at 7:00 p.m.

A note on Duke's meet versus North Carolina on Jan. 30: This meet has been moved to Wed., Jan. 31 at Chapel Hill High School. It will still be a home meet for Duke, and is still scheduled to start at 7p.m.

N.C. State 26, Duke 15
January 10, 2007 / Reynolds Coliseum
125 ? Taylor Cummings (NCS) dec. Kellan McKeon, 1-0
133 ? Garrett Cummings (NCS) won by forfeit
141 ? Philip Wightman (DU) pinned Jake Smith, 5:42
149 ? Joe Caramanica (NCS) dec. Daniel Shvartsman, 4-2
157 ? Kody Hamrah (NCS) major dec. Addison Nuding, 11-3
165 ? Aaron Glover (DU) dec. Jalil Dozier, 8-1
174 ? John Barone (DU) dec. Randy Goodman, 6-4
184 ? Dan Tulley (DU) dec. Jeremy Colbert, 5-2
197 ? Ryan Goodman (NCS) major dec. Patrick Keenum, 9-1
Hwt ? Jainor Palma (NCS) pinned Mike Tunick, 1:06