Bass, Kasper Capture Southeast Open Titles

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Bass, Kasper Capture Southeast Open Titles

11/6/2016 9:15:00 PM | Wrestling

2016 Southeast Open Brackets 2016 Southeast Open Final Results

By: Duke Sports Information

SALEM, Va. -- The Duke University wrestling team came home with a pair of titles at the Southeast Open today to get the 2016-17 season off to a strong start. Veterans Jacob Kasper and Connor Bass both captured top honors in their respective weight classes to lead the Blue Devils in the season-opening tournament.

The title was the second straight for Bass, while the showing for Kasper was his first in a Duke singlet in a year. Both Blue Devils bumped up two weight divisions with Bass taking home the crown at 174 after winning at 157 last season and Kasper bringing home the trophy at heavyweight after competing at 184 his first two seasons.

Bass, the Yorkville, Ill., native, was dominant for the Blue Devils at 174. He opened his tournament with an 11-2 major decision over Kaleab Fetahi of Old Dominion. He scored consecutive falls to advance to the semifinal where he edged Penn's Dan McDevitt by a 7-4 decision. Up against 13th-ranked Jon Schleifer in the final bout, Bass went on offense on the opening whistle of the first overtime and needed just 18 seconds to score the sudden victory takedown.

Back in action for the Blue Devils, but this time at heavyweight, Kasper used a three-point third period in his opening bout to beat Trevor Smith of Army. He needed just 1:40 to pin his next opponent and then held off a late charge from No. 16 Billy Miller of Edinboro for a 6-4 decision to advance to the semifinal. After a major decision in the semifinal, Kasper sealed the title with a solid 9-3 decision over Youssif Hemida of Maryland.

Wrestling at 149 pounds, Zach Finesilver advanced to the semifinal with ease. He pinned his first opponent in 4:48 and dominated his quarterfinal foe 22-6 to set up a bout with No. 11 Matt Kolodzik of Princeton. Kolodzik jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back to hand Finesilver his first loss of the year, 11-5. The third-place match between Finesilver and No. 5 Joey Ward was a thrilling one as the Tar Heel jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the second period. The Blue Devil redshirt sophomore scored a pair of escapes, but couldn't get the winning takedown in the third period to finish fourth.

Cole Baumgartner, wrestling as a Blue Devil for the first time, advanced to the quarterfinal at 133 pounds before falling to Maryland's Tyler Goodwin 7-0. Baumgartner recorded a pair of major decisions prior to the setback. He posted his first fall of the season in the consolation bracket, but saw his day come to an end in the consolation semifinal against Alex Madrigal of Old Dominion.

Thayer Atkins, wrestling at 125, also advanced to the consolation semifinal in his season-opening showing. He did well to rebound in the consolation bracket, winning three matches before coming up just short in a 7-5 decision against Ty Agaisse of Princeton.

In the freshman and sophomore division of the tournament, Duke rookie Josh Copeland took sixth as he went on a run in the 125-pound consolation bracket. He recorded a technical fall and major decision in the run and fell to Gage Curry in the fifth-place match.

Freshman Roman Romero advanced to the quarterfinal at 184, but lost consecutive matches to see his tournament end in the consolation quarterfinal. At heavyweight, Michael Johnson had a strong day, finishing third. He dominated his first three matches, pinning his opponents in the first period in each. In the semifinal, Johnson was whistled for a second stalling call to fall 2-1 to North Carolina's Andrew Gunning. He won by medical forfeit in the third-place bout to start his collegiate wrestling career well.

Duke opens its dual schedule against No. 15 Oregon State next weekend, Nov. 12. The Blue Devils and Beavers will wrestle at 12 p.m., at Appalachian State.

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