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Blue Devils Head To Pembroke Classic On Saturday
11/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C. ? The Duke wrestling squad will send 19 of its 29 members to the UNC Pembroke Classic on Saturday in Pembroke, N.C. The Blue Devils look to build upon their success at the all day meet after picking up nine top-four finishes and two titles last weekend at The Citadel Open in Charleston, S.C. The Pembroke tournament is the second of five weekends in a row of meets for Duke that concludes with the Penn State Open on Dec. 1.
“We are looking to build on th157 e success that we saw last week,” said head coach Clar Anderson. “The guys who competed in Charleston are continuing to work hard, while the guys who stayed behind are eager to compete for the first time this year. We saw last week that our conditioning is superior and are expecting to see more of that this week. This will be a good chance to see guys place and win several different weight classes.”
Senior captain Kellan McKeon will get things going for Duke at 125 pounds. McKeon has a career record of 35-53, including a 13-18 mark last season.
Going at 133 pounds will be redshirt senior captain Bryan Gibson, who returns after having his 2006-07 campaign cut short due to an injury last December. Gibson was 10-4 last year before his injury and holds a career record of 63-30. His 63 wins rank 19th all-time at Duke coming into the season.
Duke will send three 141-pound wrestlers to Pembroke. Sophomore Spencer Jasper is coming off of a second-place finish at The Citadel Open last Sunday after moving up a weight class this year. Also going at 141 will be sophomore Chris Thumen (0-4 in 2006-07) and freshman A.J. Guardado (2-2 at The Citadel).
Following their lead, a pair of talented freshmen in Mike Bell and Colby Johnson will represent Duke at 149 pounds. Bell went 4-2 in Charleston last weekend on his way to a fourth-place finish and Johnson was 2-2 at the same meet.
At 157 pounds, sophomores Jared Sernoffsky and Voris Tejada look to continue their strong start after placing second and third respectively at The Citadel Open. Sernoffsky went 3-1 at that meet and Tejada went 5-1. Tejada's career .727 winning percentage (24-9) currently ranks 13th all-time at Duke. Sophomore Danny Torres will also compete in his second meet of the year.
The 165-pound wrestlers will be junior captain Addison Nuding and freshman Willy Mello. Nuding moves up from 157 pounds, where he was 12-10 last year and is 22-27 as a Blue Devil overall. Mello captured The Citadel Open at 165 pounds last weekend by winning four straight matches.
Redshirt sophomore Ben Wales, redshirt junior Turner Rooney and sophomore Mat Koelling will stand in for Duke at the 174-pound division. After going up two weight classes in the off-season, Wales kicked off the season by winning The Citadel Open with a 4-0 record. Rooney placed second, losing only to Wales at the meet. Koelling will see his first action of the year after posting a 7-11 mark in his freshman campaign.
Moving up full-time to 184 pounds is redshirt sophomore John Barone, who had the most wins at Duke last season with 24. Barone is 35-16 in his two seasons in Durham.
At 197 pounds, a pair of Duke wrestlers hopes to make a significant impact on their division. Redshirt junior Dan Fox makes the transition from 184 pounds after wrestling to a 9-11 record last year. Redshirt freshman Robert Holbrook went 3-1 at The Citadel Open last weekend on his way to a third-place finish.
Concluding with the heavyweight division, redshirt sophomore Wade Van Sickle took second place last Sunday in Charleston and looks to make a statement in Pembroke.
“The coaches and wrestlers are going into the weekend expecting good things,” said Anderson. “We've been working hard in the training room and it's time to cash in.”
The Blue Devils next meet is the all day East Stroudsburg Open in East Stroudsburg, Pa., on Saturday, Nov. 17.
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