Duke Announces 2018-19 Wrestling Schedule

DURHAM, N.C.—Duke wrestling head coach Glen Lanham has announced the 2018-19 schedule. The Blue Devils will host five home duals and wrestle three duals against NCAA top 20 finishers from a year ago.

Duke is coming off of its best season, placing 22nd overall at the NCAA Championships and garnering another All-America award. The Blue Devils return eight starters from a year ago, including four NCAA qualifiers.

November Tournaments and December Dual

Mitch Finesilver will open the 2018 campaign at the 2018 NWCA All-Star Classic in Denver, Colo. Finesilver was selected to compete at 149 pounds in the prestigious preseason event. Hosted by RMNevents and taking place at the National Wrestling Complex, Finesilver is the second Blue Devil selected to compete in this even that features just 20 wrestlers across the country.

The season officially kicks off November 4 at the Hokie Open. Three Blue Devils finished in the top five of the overall bracket and a trio of rookies grabbed podium finishes in the Freshman and Sophomore Division.

The Keystone Classic is the other November tournament for the Blue Devils two weeks later. Duke earned four top-five finishes in the event a year ago. The Blue Devils close out November at the top-shelf Cliff Keen Open in Las Vegas.

Duke will wrestle in its first dual at Gardner-Webb December 6. The Blue Devils are 28-2-1 against the Bulldogs and have won six of the past seven, including last year's 38-3 victory in Durham.

Ringing in 2019 at the Southern Scuffle

As customary, Duke will make the trip west to Chattanooga, Tenn., to compete in the prestigious Southern Scuffle. The Blue Devils had a fantastic showing at the event last season, taking fifth overall, the best finish by far. Mitch Finesilver hopes to move up a spot on the podium after finishing as runner-up in 2018. Matt Finesilver took eighth in his rookie season.

Dual Season Opens with Ivy League Foes

Duke opens its full dual season with Ivy League opponents Penn and Brown, respectively. The Quakers visit Durham Jan. 6, while the Bears come in the following week Jan. 12. The match against Penn marks the first time the two squads will have wrestled since 1990, while Brown and the Blue Devils dual for the second time overall, but first since 1992.

Navy Rematch in Annapolis

Arguably the two most exciting matches the past two seasons for Duke have been the duals against Navy. Both matches were decided by criteria with the Mids winning in 2017 and the Blue Devils in 2018 in Durham. The win last season was just the second for Duke against the Midshipmen and the two teams meet for the 13th time Jan. 20, 2019.

Breaking Down the ACC Slate

Duke opens its challenging ACC schedule Jan. 25 at preseason No. 9 NC State. The Wolfpack are coming off of a fifth-place showing at the NCAA Championships. Conference foes visiting Durham this season are preseason No. 15 Virginia Tech and No. 22 North Carolina, Feb. 1 and Feb. 22. After NC State, Duke travels to Virginia Feb. 9 and Pittsburgh Feb. 15. The Blue Devils look for a second consecutive win over the Cavaliers and the first win over Pitt in program history.

Non-Conference Duals

Duke also will pay a visit to non-conference opponent Old Dominion Jan. 27 and will host Appalachian State Feb. 7. The Blue Devils posted wins over both last season. Duke has won three straight over the Monarchs by a combined eight points, while the Blue Devils and Mountaineers are embroiled in a back-and-forth affair, which Duke leads 4-2 under Lanham.

March Matness

Postseason begins for Duke at the ACC Championships, March 9 in Blacksburg, Va. The NCAA Championships run from March 21-23 in Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena.

Day	Date	Opponent	Location	Time
Sunday	November 4	Hokie Open	Blacksburg, Va.	All Day
Sunday	November 18	Keystone Classic	Philadelphia, Pa.	All Day
Friday-Saturday	Nov. 30-Dec. 1	Cliff Keen Open	Las Vegas, Nev.	All Day
Thursday	December 6	Gardner-Webb	Boiling Springs, N.C.	7 p.m.
Tuesday-Wednesday	Jan. 1-2	Southern Scuffle	Chattanooga, Tenn.	All Day
Sunday	January 6	Penn	Durham, N.C.	2 p.m.
Saturday	January 12	Brown	Durham, N.C.	7 p.m.
Sunday	January 20	Navy	Annapolis, Md.	4 p.m.
Friday	January 25	NC State	Raleigh, N.C.	7 p.m.
Sunday	January 27	Old Dominion	Norfolk, Va.	1 p.m.
Friday	February 1	Virginia Tech	Durham, N.C.	7 p.m.
Thursday	February 7	Appalachian State	Durham, N.C.	7 p.m.
Saturday	February 9	Virginia	Charlottesville, Va.	1 p.m.
Friday	February 15	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh, Pa.	7 p.m.
Friday	February 22	North Carolina	Durham, N.C.	7 p.m.
Saturday	March 9	ACC Championships	Blacksburg, Va.	All Day
Thursday-Saturday	March 21-23	NCAA Championships	Pittsburgh, Pa.	All Day