Duke improves to 7-7 overall on the year, while Old Dominion falls to 9-9. The Blue Devils recognized their three seniors -- Thayer Atkins, Luke Farinaro and Jacob Kasper -- prior to the match.
Old Dominion got off to a fast start out of the gates, jumping to a 13-3 lead after four matches. Josh Finesilver put the Blue Devils on the scoreboard with a 9-2 decision at 133 pounds. The rookie picked up his 20th win of the season, controlling the entire match against Caleb Richardson as he just missed earning the major decision. Leading 4-2 after two periods, Josh was outstanding in the third with five unanswered for the 9-2 victory.
Mitch Finesilver added three more points to the scoreboard for Duke, notching a 9-3 decision over Larry Early. In a rematch of the Hokie Open final, Mitch scored first and built his lead to 6-2 after two periods. The redshirt junior scored another takedown in search of the major decision and came up just shy as Early defended well in the final seconds. The win was the 26th for Mitch this season.
Duke's win by Mitch sparked the Blue Devils' three-match win streak that pulled the Blue Devils within two, 13-11 with three bouts remaining. The trio of Finesilvers - Mitch, Zach and Matt - wrestling at 157, 165 and 174 all emerged victorious.
Zach followed Mitch with a strong performance at 165 with an 8-4 decision over Shane Jones. Leading 8-2 in the third period, Zach was looking for the major decision, but a late takedown from Jones kept Duke to just three points.
At 174 pounds, Matt resumed his winning ways with a gutsy 4-3 victory over junior Seldon Wright. All even 2-2 after two periods, Matt got to his offense in the third and scored a takedown for the 4-2 lead. Wright escaped to pull within one, but couldn't get anything else going en route to his 23rd win of the year.
Old Dominion, leading 13-11, extended its lead to five with a 3-1 decision at 184 pounds, but it was all Blue Devils in the final two bouts for the win.
Alec Schenk sparked the final push at 197, with a 10-2 major decision over Noah Bushman. Scoreless after the first period, Schenk escaped and scored the takedown within seconds of each other for the 3-0 lead. He tacked on three more points to build a 6-1 lead after two and cruised through the third period for the four team points.
Kasper left nothing in doubt with the dual on the line, capturing his 32nd victory of the season with a 14-2 major decision. The veteran heavyweight led 2-0 after the first period and proceeded to turn Ali Wahab multiple times to post his eighth major decision of the year. He is now five wins shy of breaking the Duke single-season mark and has 101 for his career.
The Blue Devils will rejuvenate for a couple of weeks to prepare for the ACC Championships, March 3, at North Carolina. The action will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
Results:
125 - Michael McGee (ODU) decision Thayer Atkins (Duke), 10-5 [ODU 3, Duke 0]
133 - Josh Finesilver (Duke) decision Caleb Richardson (ODU), 9-2 [ODU 3, Duke 0]
141 - Alex Madrigal (ODU) fall Josh Copeland (Duke), 2:02 [ODU 9, Duke 3]
149 - Kenan Carter (ODU) major decision Brandon Leynaud (Duke), 16-4 [ODU 13, Duke 3]
157 - No. 10 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) decision Larry Early (ODU), 9-3 [ODU 13, Duke 6]
165 - Zach Finesilver (Duke) decision Shane Jones (ODU), 8-4 [ODU 13, Duke 8]*
174 - No. 18 Matt Finesilver (Duke) decision Seldon Wright (ODU), 4-3 [ODU 13, Duke 11]
184 - Antonio Agee (ODU) decision Kaden Russell (Duke), 3-1 [ODU 16, Duke 11]
197 - Alec Schenk (Duke) major decision Noah Bushman (ODU), 10-2 [ODU 16, Duke 15]
285 - No. 3 Jacob Kasper (Duke) major decision Ali Wahab (ODU), 14-2 [ODU 16, Duke 19]
*Duke docked a team point for mat control during 165-pound match
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