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Wrestling Kicks Off Season at Pair of Tournaments
11/5/2010 11:50:00 AM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C.-The Duke University wrestling team will kick off its 2010-11 season this weekend in a pair of events. The Blue Devils will have a selection of freshmen and sophomores in the Citadel Open on Nov. 6, while another group of wrestlers will travel to the Hokie Open at Virginia Tech on Nov. 7.
The Blue Devils welcome back seven starters and 17 letterwinners from the 2009-10 squad, while a collection of six newcomers join the program for their first season on the collegiate wrestling stage. Captaining the 2010-11 squad are Mike Bell, Diego Bencomo, AJ Guardado, Willy Mello and Peter Terrezza.
The Citadel Open starts at 9 a.m., at McAlister Field House and admission is $5. The Hokie Open will commence on Nov. 7 at 9 a.m., at the Salem Civic Center. Admission for the Hokie Open is $15 for adults, $5 for kids, ages 12-and-under. Tickets also will be available at the Salem Civic Center Box Office the day of the tournament. Fans can keep up with the action at hokieopen.com with bracket updates throughout the day.
A group of six wrestlers will travel to Charleston, S.C., for the Citadel Open. The group all will be officially competing as Blue Devils for the first time in their careers. Redshirt freshmen David Henry and Bret Klopp hit the mats after redshirting last season. Henry is coming off of an undefeated rookie season, which including a first-place finish at the Citadel Open at 165 pounds. Klopp will line up at 174 pounds after going 12-5 in his first season with the Blue Devils. He took third a year ago at the Citadel Open.
Freshmen Brian Self, Brandon Gambucci, Ryan Harding and Ethan Ruby are ready for their first collegiate wrestling tournament. Gambucci will anchor the lineup at 125 pounds and Ryan Harding is set to compete in the 157-pound division. Brian Self will compete at 184 pounds and Ruby will represent the Blue Devils at 149 pounds.
Nine wrestlers will make the trip to Salem, Va., for the Hokie Open on Sunday. The list includes three seniors, three juniors, a sophomore, a redshirt sophomore and a redshirt freshman.
Redshirt freshman Riley Adamson will compete for the first time as a Blue Devil after lining up unattached last season. Adamson will represent Duke at 141 pounds after going 7-7 in the 2009 tournament season. Bell also will compete at 141 pounds and posted a 3-2 record last season at the Hokie Open.
Lining up at 184 pounds will be Bencomo. He is making his first appearance in the Hokie Open after registering a 21-11 record a year ago. Andrew Fulk looks to build on his solid 2009-10 season at heavyweight, going 14-8 overall, including a 14-5 mark in tournament action.
The 165-pound division will be anchored by Willy Mello. The senior captain did not compete last season and is 28-22 for his career. Chris Mullen looks to make his way through the 141-pound bracket, while sophomore Chris Piccolella is ready to test himself at 149 pounds. He competed twice at 149 pounds in his rookie season, going 1-1 overall.
Competing unattached for duke are senior AJ Guardado and junior Peter Terrezza. Guardado posted a 4-4 record last year at 149 pounds, while Terrezza was 16-11 from the 125-pound division.
Duke continues its tournament schedule on Nov. 14 at the NC State Open.
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