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Duke Looks To Make Statement For Season At The Citadel Open
11/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C. ? Duke Wrestling will kick off its season on Sunday at The Citadel Open in Charleston, S.C. The meet is set up for freshmen and sophomores to give them more of a taste of collegiate wrestling before open tournaments begin. The Blue Devil program looks forward to set a dominant tone for the rest of the season with a strong finish, as the tournament is the first of five weekends in a row of meets that concludes with the Penn St. Open on Dec. 1.
Duke will be leading off with two 141-pound wrestlers. Sophomore Spencer Jasper has moved up a weight class this year and seeks to build on last year's success as a freshman starter, and freshman A.J. Guardado will have his first taste of college action in the hopes of having an immediate impact.
Following their lead, a pair of talented freshmen in Colby Johnson and Mike Bell will represent Duke at 149 pounds. They both have demonstrated their capabilities in practice and are excited at the opportunity to display their skill in live competition.
At 157 pounds, sophomore Voris Tejada hopes to build upon the spectacular tournament record of his freshman year (15-7), in which he placed at every tournament attended. After taking third last year at The Citadel Open, Tejada aspires to capture his first title as a Blue Devil. Similarly, sophomores Jared Sernoffsky and Danny Torres possess the tools to be dominant in the weight class and look to do so on Sunday.
The lone 165-pound wrestler for Duke, freshman Willy Mello, hopes to bring a strong high school pedigree to the collegiate level and start off aggressively this weekend in South Carolina.
Redshirt sophomore Ben Wales and redshirt junior Turner Rooney will stand in for Duke at the 174-pound division. After a grueling off-season, which included building muscle for going up two weight classes, Wales will try to wear down opponents over the course of the match and translate his conditioning into success. Rooney returns to The Citadel Open with his eyes on the title after nearly capturing first place in an appearance in the finals two years ago.
At 197 pounds, a trio of Duke wrestlers hopes to make a significant impact on their division. Redshirt junior Dan Fox has refined his division and built the muscle to make a transition to the weight class. Sophomore Jack Richards looks improved from his freshman campaign and should contribute at 197. Robert Holbrook, coming off a redshirt season training with fellow wrestlers and traveling across the country in his first year with the team, is poised for a breakout this year.
Concluding with the heavyweight division, Wade Van Sickle returns from a redshirt season as well in which he trained with former All-America Michael Irving. Van Sickle's preparation should pay off well this year and he looks to start strong in the first meet of the season.
The coaching staff hopes that The Citadel Open will be an occasion for Duke to showcase its new talent. That couple with the success of Duke's returning wrestlers should make for a strong showing on Sunday in Charleston.
“This first tournament is going to be a tremendous opportunity to see where we're at,” said assistant coach Mark Becks. “You'll be surprised by at how much better our conditioning is.”
The Blue Devils next meet is the UNC Pembroke Open in Pembroke, N.C., on Nov. 9 and 10. The tournament is scheduled to go from 5 - 11 p.m. on Friday night and all day on Saturday.
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