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Duke to Face Pitt, Harvard and Edinboro at Pitt Duals
1/8/2016 1:41:00 PM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C.—The Duke wrestling team will make the trek north to Pittsburgh to compete in a trio of matches at the Pitt Duals Saturday. The Blue Devils will wrestle host No. 20 Pitt, Harvard and Edinboro in the all-day event at Fitzgerald Field House.
About the Pitt Duals
The Pitt Duals feature 13 teams from the region, including ACC teams Pitt, DNC State and North Carolina. Wrestling starts at 9 a.m., with each match starting at 125 pounds. There will be 10 minutes between rounds and there will be 10 teams competing in each round on five mats.
Series Histories
Duke will be meeting Edinboro for the first time in the programs' histories Saturday, while the meetings with Pitt and Harvard will be the third and second, respectively, between the two teams. The Blue Devils are 0-2 against the Panthers, including a narrow 20-15 loss last season. Duke is 1-0 versus Harvard, upending the Crimson 24-21 in 2006.
Scouting Duke
The Blue Devils, ranked 23rd in the latest InterMat poll, are 0-2 in duals with the most recent loss coming to third-ranked NC State. Duke is without a 125-pounder due to injuries, while a trio of Blue Devils is in the most recent individual rankings. Conner Hartmann leads the way at No. 5 in the 197-pound division, while Jake Faust is 12th at 165. Mitch Finesilver made his debut in the rankings this week after his Southern Scuffle performance, coming in at No. 25 at 149.
Probables
125 - Open
133 - Brandon Leynaud (0-1)
141 - Zach Finesilver (13-7) or Evan Botwin (4-5)
149 – No. 25 Mitch Finesilver (13-5)
157 - Connor Bass (10-5)
165 – No. 12 Jake Faust (7-3)
174 - Alec Schenk (1-3) or Brian Dorsey (4-7)
184 - Trey Adamson (7-7) or Spencer Neff (5-7)
197 – No. 5 Conner Hartmann (11-1)
285 - Brendan Walsh (9-5)
About Pitt
Pitt opens the New Year with a 5-1 overall record and ranked 20th nationally. The Panthers most recently defeated Edinboro 24-9 and Wisconsin 25-9 prior to the break for the holidays. Three Panthers are ranked in the top 25 with Mikey Racciato leading the squad in the No. 5 spot with a 10-1 overall record at 141 pounds. Dom Forys is ranked 17th at 133, and Ryan Solomon is 20th at heavyweight.
Pitt Probables
125 – LJ Bentley or Jake Gromacki
133 – No. 17 Dom Forys
141 – No. 5 Mikey Racciato or Nick Zanetta
149 – Robert Lee or Joe Trovato
157 – Ronnie Garbinsky or Nathan Russell
165 – Cody Wiercioch
174 – TeShan Campbell or Cam Jacobson
184 – Zach Bruce
197 – Nick Bonaccorsi or Matt Patrick
285 – No. 20 Ryan Solomon or John Rizzo
About Edinboro
Edinboro enters the Pitt Duals set to face a trio of ACC foes in Duke, North Carolina and NC State. The Fighting Scots are 5-3 overall and 3-0 in EWL action. Edinboro features a young lineup of four true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen with freshman Pat Lugo leading the way with a 20-2 overall record at 149. The Fighting Scots most recently finished 15th at the Southern Scuffle with Billy Miller earning a spot on the podium in eighth place.
Edinboro Probables
125 – Sean Russell
133 – Tony Recco or Anthony Rivera
141 – Tyler Vath
149 – Patricio Lugo or Jensen Lorea
157 – Spencer Nagy or Chase Delande
165 – Casey Fuller
174 – Patrick Jennings
184 – Chris Laird
197 – Vince Pickett or Warren Bosch
Hwt – Billy Miller
About Harvard
Harvard kicks off its dual schedule at the Pitt Duals and will be the third opponent for the Blue Devils Saturday. The Crimson also will wrestle Bloomsburg and NC State. Three Crimson grapplers captured the top spot on the podium at the Franklin & Marshall Open Dec. 30. Overall, 12 Harvard wrestlers placed at the event. Weather prevented the Crimson from competing at the Midlands Championships, while a trio of Harvard competitors placed at the Cliff Keen Invitational prior to the final exams break. Seventh-ranked Todd Preston headlines the team with a 16-3 record at 141 pounds, while heavyweight Nick Gajdzik is 16-5.
Harvard Probables
125 – Nolan Hellickson (8-6)
133 – Jeffrey Ott (11-6) or Ryan Friedman (8-5)
141 – No. 7 Todd Preston (16-3)
149 – Patrick Hogan (6-8) or Thomas Dutton (3-2)
157 – Tyler Tarsi (4-5) or Nick Stager (8-5)
165 – Devon Gobbo (13-4) or Kannon Dean (1-4)
174 – Josef Johnson (9-6)
184 – Michael Mocco (6-5) or Logan Kirby (3-5)
197 – Josh Popple (3-2) or LJ Barlow (1-6)
Hwt – Nick Gajdzik (16-5)
Matches to Watch
There are a host of matches to watch for the Blue Devils this weekend at the Pitt Duals. Duke's 141-pounders Zach Finesilver and Evan Botwin have a pair of tough tests Saturday against No. 5 Mikey Racciato of Pitt and No. 7 Todd Preston of Harvard. Finesilver most recently lost a hard-fought battle to No. 3 Kevin Jack of NC State. A rematch between No. 25 Mitch Finesilver and Edinboro's 149-pounder Pat Lugo could be on tap. Finesilver upset then-No. 20 Pat Lugo at the Southern Scuffle. Duke's Brendan Walsh also will go up against Fighting Scots heavyweight Billy Miller a week after the Southern Scuffle.
Up Next for Duke
Duke makes the long trip west next weekend to take on Stanford and Cal Poly, Jan. 16 and 17, respectively.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
174
/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling
141
/ Wrestling
157
/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling
125
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141
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197
/ Wrestling
133
/ Wrestling
197
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184
/ Wrestling
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