Duke Drops Heartbreaker at Northwestern

Friday, February 19

Evanston, Ill.

8:00 PM

Duke University

Northwestern

Duke Heads to Nation's Capital for Pair of Duals

Duke Drops Heartbreaker at Northwestern

2/19/2016 10:19:00 PM | Wrestling

By: Duke Sports Information

EVANSTON, Ill. –Duke and Northwestern exchanged blows in a fierce non-conference wrestling match tonight with the Wildcats coming out on top based on a tiebreaker after the squads battled to a 19-19 draw. The forfeit at 133 by the Blue Devils proved to be the difference as Northwestern got the point for the 20-19 win.

Both Duke (5-9) and Northwestern (2-12) won five matches overall as they completed the dual even at 19-19. Forced to go to the criteria to break the tie, the second tiebreaker is falls and forfeits which resulted in Northwestern taking the match.

The Blue Devils got bonus points at four weights and another decision at 197 pounds, but couldn't quite overcome the six points given up due to the forfeit. Duke rallied from a 13-4 deficit to take a 19-16 to set up yet another thrilling finish at heavyweight.

The Blue Devils fell behind 10-0 after a major decision at 125 and a forfeit at 133, but redshirt freshman Zach Finesilver put Duke on the board with a big major decision over No. 19 Jameson Oster at 141 pounds.

Zach and Oster scrambled and worked through the first minute of the first period before the Duke 141-pounder scored a four-point nearfall for the 4-0 lead. Tough in the top position, Zach was able to turn Oster again in the final seconds of the period for an 8-0 lead. He simply added to his riding time en route to the 9-0 win for his first ranked victory of the year.

Mitch Finesilver, riding a 13-match win streak and ranked 10th nationally, battled No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis tough before falling 5-0 to the All-American. The loss was his first in a dual this season as he moves to 13-1.

Trailing 13-4, Duke got major decisions from Connor Bass and Jake Faust to pull within one heading into the last four bouts. Bass was outstanding at 157 pounds, cruising to a 12-1 decision over Anthony Petrone. A last-second push for the technical fall came up just short, giving Duke four points.

Faust, on a roll for the Blue Devils after climbing back into the rankings, went to work right away and had no trouble with Luke Norland with a 15-5 victory to bring the match score to 13-12 heading into 174.

In his first match in a month, Alec Schenk went up early on Mitch Sliga, but a good third period from Northwestern resulted in the 7-3 decision and a 16-12 lead in the bout.

Redshirt senior Trey Adamson was determined to do his part in leading the Blue Devils to victory as he went on the offensive from the opening whistle. He scored early and often, building to a major decision in the second period. Regis Durbin fought off a technical fall from Adamson, leaving the two squads even at 16 apiece.

At 197 pounds, fifth-ranked Conner Hartmann gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the evening, besting Jacob Berkowitz 8-2. Duke's two-time All-American nearly got the major decision in the final seconds, but was just a few seconds shy leaving Northwestern needing just a decision to get the team win.

Duke heavyweight Brendan Walsh, in familiar territory, went up against Conan Jennings needing a win. Walsh scored first with an escape in the second period, but carried a stall warning into the final session. He rode hard in the third period, but came up one second short of the bonus point for riding time and a second stall call in the final two seconds gave Jennings the 2-1 win.

Duke closes out the 2016 regular season at No .23 Purdue Sunday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m., on BTN Plus.

125: Garrison White (NU) major dec. Thayer Atkins (Duke), 11-2 – Duke 0, Northwestern 4

133: Dominick Malone (NU) wins by forfeit – Duke 0, Northwestern 10

141: Zach Finesilver (Duke0 major dec. No. 19 Jameson Oster (NU), 9-0 – Duke 4, Northwestern 10

149: No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) dec. No. 10 Mitch Finesilver (Duke), 5-0 – Duke 4, Northwestern 13

157: Connor Bass (Duke) major dec. Anthony Petrone (NU), 12-1 – Duke 8, Northwestern 13

165: No. 18 Jake Faust (Duke) major dec. Luke Norland (NU), 15-5 – Duke 12, Northwestern 13

174: Mitch Sliga (NU) dec. Alec Schenk (Duke), 7-3 – Duke 12, Northwestern 16

184: Trey Adamson (Duke) major dec. Regis Durbin (NU), 14-4 – Duke 16, Northwestern 16

197: No 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) dec. Jacob Berkowitz (NU), 8-2 – Duke 19, Northwestern 19

285: Conan Jennings (NU) dec. Brendan Walsh (Duke), 2-1 – Duke 19, Northwestern 19

*Northwestern wins based on forfeit by Duke at 133