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    Old Dominion wins seventh straight with victory over Bucknell

    LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The 18th ranked ODU wrestling team (13-5) added a seventh to its win streak with a 21-9 win over the Bucknell Bison (8-7). Defending the highest national ranking the program has ever had, Old Dominion won seven weights including an upset at 165 lbs as junior #15 Chris Brown (Chesapeake, Va.) beat #12 Andy Rendos, 4-3. The win was his fourth against a nationally ranked opponent this season.

    The Monarchs won the first weight behind team statistical leader and top ten 125-pounder James Nicholson, with a 7-1 decision over Derek Reber. The Bison bounced back as David Marble, in his first week unranked all year, upset ODU's #19 Kyle Hutter, 4-2. Hutter had beaten Marble twice before in his career, and was leading against the Bison grappler today, but Marble had an escape late in the second and another in the third for the win.

    Senior Ryan Williams posted the 125th win of his career and 27th of the season as he grabbed a 10-5 decision over Adam Healey at 141 lbs, but Bucknell answered to tie the score at six with a win at 149 lbs. Kevin LeValley and ODU's Joey Metzler battled in an overtime thriller, but it was LeValley that escaped and recorded a takedown in the tiebreaker for the win.

    The Monarchs pulled away with three straight decisions at 157, 165 and 174, including the upset win for Brown. Kaylen Baxter continued to improve at 157, with a 7-2 win over John Regan, and Eric Decker won at 174 lbs over Shane Riccio, 5-4. It was the win by Brown, though, that gave ODU the edge the rest of the way.

    Brown had a quick lead on Rendos, but the score remained tied at two apiece late in the third. With just 28 seconds remaining, the Monarch wrestler scored a takedown to go up 4-2. Rendos would escape, but Brown held on for the victory. The three wins at the middle weights gave ODU a nine-point cushion headed into the last three.

    Rookie Joe Budi went down 5-0 to David Thompson at 184 lbs, but battled back and cut the lead to two in the third period. He was unable to score again, though, and added the riding time advantage point for the 5-4 final.

    Old Dominion closed out the match with victories at 197 lbs and the heavyweight class behind #15 Jesse Strawn and the CAA's #2 HWT, Roy Dragon III. Strawn fell just one point shy of a major decision, winning 8-1 over Nathan Jones and Dragon posted a 4-1 decision against Jay Hahn.

    The win was the seventh straight for the Monarch wrestlers, improving to 13-5 overall this season. It was the second straight victory against Bucknell, evening the all-time series at two wins apiece.

    Old Dominion will be on the road again next weekend as they head to #6 Central Michigan. The Monarchs and Chippewas matched up at the Virginia Duals earlier this month with CMU winning 24-12. It will be the eighth dual against nationally ranked competition this season, with ODU posting a 2-5 record so far. CMU is coming off a tie with #4 Nebraska and a loss to unranked Virginia Tech today, and will host ODU at 2:00 pm on Sunday, February 1.

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