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Blue Devils Enjoy Success At UNC Pembroke
12/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 13, 2004
PEMBROKE, N.C. - Competing in North Carolina for the first time on the season, the Blue Devils turned in a quality performance at the UNC Pembroke Open, as four grapplers won titles, two others reached the finals, and 12 wrestlers in total secured top-six finishes.
Sophomore Christian Smith led the way with a 5-4 victory in the finals over Delrico Choates of Cumberland College for the championship at 125 pounds. This was the defending ACC champion's toughest match on the day, as he recorded three pins and an 8-0 decision on his way to the finals. His last victory was followed by a win from freshman Wes Kuser, who recorded one pin and knocked off the top three seeds at 133 pounds, including a victory over Brian Sticca of Virginia. His last match was a tightly fought 7-5 win over Brad Cooper of Cumberland College.
The other two final victories were far more comfortable for the Devils. Antwone Floyd took his second straight title at Pembroke, adding the 149-pound crown to his 141-pound victory in 2003. The sophomore wrestled the top seed, Steve McGettrick, in a close match and secured a pin in the third period. Junior Mark Thompson continued his resurgence with a pin in 49 seconds in the final for the title. Thompson's closest match came in the semifinals against teammate Dan Tulley, an 8-2 match.
Dan Shvartsman, Duke's lone 141-pound competitor, surrendered a takedown in the first period and could not recover, losing to Willie Hilton of the host school, 5-3. Shvartsman had one major decision for the tournament. Senior Steve Smith was unable to wrestle in the finals due to injury, and had to settle for his second straight second-place finish at 165 pounds. Smith still managed to record two pins and also a 5-3 win in the semifinals.
At 133, sophomore Brian Gibson took fourth place, also defeating Sticca on his way to the finish. At 197, Duke had four wrestlers in the quarterfinals, and ended up with three placers. Konrad Dudziak continued his impressive freshman year, recording a pin and a victory over an NC State starter before finishing third. Dan Tulley, another freshman, competing unattached, picked up a sixth-place spot. Also competing here was Patrick Keenum, a sophomore who picked up two wins and missed placing by two matches.
The other place-winners were scattered among the upper weights. Scott Doerr, the lone entrant for Duke at 174, turned in a third-place finish, losing only to the eventual champion and giving him his closest match. Dan Fox, a freshman wrestling unattached, just missed matching Doerr as he took fourth place. Among his wins was 12-3 win over Freddie Valoy, a wrestler who had beaten Fox just a week before in the Keydet Invitational finals. Rounding out the tournament for Duke was Andrew Herbert, who picked up a fifth-place finish at the heavyweight class. Herbert recovered from a first round defeat to post four straight wins and five in total, with two pins.
Other strong peformances were turned in at the 149 and 157 pound weight classes. At 157, Kevin Ward, Adam Lesser, and Brandon Foose each picked up two victories, while another junior, Brandon Ayers, also had an impressive win. At 149, sophomore Philip Wightman had two wins before getting injured in a loss to McGettrick. Zach Weisberg also added three wins.
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