Blue Devils Turn in Strong Showing at Hokie Open

Sunday, November 9

Blacksburg, Va.

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Hokie Open

Blue Devils Turn in Strong Showing at Hokie Open

11/10/2014 12:10:00 AM | Wrestling

By: Duke Sports Information

Results

BLACKSBURG, Va. –The Duke wrestling squad opened its 2014-15 campaign with an outstanding showing at the Hokie open. The Blue Devils finished the full day of wrestling with three titles, one runner-up showing and nine place-winners overall, six of which were true freshmen.

Leading the group wrestling in Duke singlets were Immanuel Kerr-Brown and Marcus Cain with third-place finishes at 157 and 149, respectively. The finishes by the redshirt seniors were the best of their careers at the Hokie Open as Kerr-Brown improved upon his sixth-place showing last season and Cain matched his performance last year.

Kerr-Brown cruised through the opening rounds, including a win over teammate Connor Bass, and met ACC rival Tommy Gantt of NC State in the semifinal. Gantt earned the major decision to send Kerr-Brown to the consolation final where he won by forfeit.

Cain, back at 149 pounds in his final campaign, marched his way to the semifinals where he went up against All-American Devin Carter of Virginia Tech. The Winston-Salem, N.C., native battled the 2014 NCAA runner-up throughout the seven minutes, falling by decision 9-6. Cain rebounded in the third-place match with a 10-7 decision over Christian Barber of North Carolina.

Brian Dorsey, in the 174 pound division took third, Evan Botwin at 141 finished fourth and Jacob Kasper took fifth at 184 pounds. Sophomore Jacob Kasper rounded out the official Duke contingent by taking fifth at 184 pounds.

Dorsey opened with a third-period fall and advanced to the semifinal round and rebounded in the consolation final with a 6-2 decision over Sean Mappes of Chattanooga. Botwin got off to a fast start, winning his first three matches to advance to the semifinal round. Up against North Carolina's Joey Ward in the semifinal, Botwin just missed moving on to the title match in a 7-6 setback en route to taking fourth.

Kasper posted the most wins of the day for the Blue Devils with a 6-1 mark. His lone loss came against UNC rival Alex Utley in his second bout of the morning. The sophomore rallied with five straight wins, including a 6-2 decision over Campbell's Ville Heino to earn the fifth spot on the podium.

Wrestling unattached in the open bracket were returning All-American Conner Hartmann at 197 and true freshman Grant Leeth at 141. Hartmann picked up right where he left off last spring as he cruised through his bracket to take home the title. The Port Orchard, Wash., native started the day with consecutive falls and relinquished just two points in his final two bouts to win the tournament.

Leeth, Duke's lone true freshman competing in the open division, won his opening match before falling to the talented Joe Spisak of Virginia. Duke's talented rookie regained his momentum with a 10-4 decision in his next outing and added two more wins in the afternoon for fifth place overall.

Blue Devil rookies showed well in the freshman and sophomore division of the Hokie Open with Zach Finesilver and Alec Schenk capturing top honors at 149 and 184 pounds, respectively. Both Finesilver and Schenk competed unattached in their first collegiate tournament and combined to go 7-0 on the day.

Freshmen Luke Farinaro grabbed third-place honors at 174 pounds, while Logan Day wrestled his way to the runner-up spot in the 157-pound division. Bailey Jack rounded out the place winners with a fifth-place showing at 133.

Finesilver was dominant, opening the day with a 7-1 decision over Anderson Pope of North Carolina. He cruised to the title match with a 17-3 major decision and gutted out a 10-8 overtime victory in the championship bout against Chad Saunders of NRV Mat Club.

Schenk marched his way to a title in his first collegiate outing in similar fashion, best his first opponent in a 10-4 decision. He pinned his second foe to land in the final bout of the day where he edged Campbell's Matthew Olauson 3-1 for top honors.

Overall, Duke's rookies competing in the freshmen and sophomore division compiled a 17-6 record and six major decisions and falls for the day.

Duke returns to action Sunday, Nov. 16 at the Wolfpack Open. The tournament will be hosted in Carmichael Gymnasium. The Blue Devils open their home campaign the following week with a dual against Big Ten power Nebraska.

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