DURHAM, N.C.-The Duke University wrestling team begins postseason action Saturday, March 9 at the 59th annual Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championship hosted by the University of Maryland. The ACC recently announced the pairings in the 10 weight classes with
Marcus Cain and
Immanuel Kerr-Brown leading the way with No. 3 seeds in their respective divisions.
Cain, a redshirt freshman at 149 pounds, is seeded third overall and will face No. 6 seed Lou Mascola of Maryland in the opening round. The Winston-Salem, N.C., native is 22-9 overall and finished the regular season with a 13-3 dual record and 2-1 mark in ACC action. In the only meeting between the two, Cain dropped a heartbreaker as he got pinned with 30 seconds left after jumping out to a commanding early lead against Mascola.
Duke's wins leader this season, Kerr-Brown will be the No. 3 seed at 157 pounds after going 3-2 in conference action and 9-6 in duals. Kerr-Brown is 26-13 overall and will wrestle Maryland's Danny Orem in the opening round at the ACC Championship. In the regular season match between Duke and the Terrapins, Kerr-Brown did not face Orem as he defeated Brady Massaro in a 5-0 decision. Both the 149 and 157-pound groups own a pair of automatic berths in the NCAA Championships, meaning the champion and runner-up will automatically advance to the NCAA postseason.
Redshirt freshman Brandon Gambucci will vie for one of five spots at 133 pounds as the No. 5 seed. He will take on fourth-seeded Joey Ward of North Carolina in his opening match. When the two met during the regular season, No. 19 Ward emerged with an 8-2 decision. Gambucci is 17-4 overall for the year and ranked 20th in the most recent RPI rankings and 24th by the coaches.
Making his return to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 6 against Virginia Tech, redshirt freshman Conner Hartmann earned the No. 4 seed at 197 pounds. The top two finishers advance to the NCAA Championships and Hartmann will open the ACC Championship against NC State's Bill Cook. The winner will move on to face the No. 1 seed Christian Boley of Maryland.
Joining Gambucci as No. 5 seeds are Randy Roden (165), Trey Adamson (174), Dylan Ryan (184) and Brian Self (285). The 165 and 174-pound groups both have three spots available for the NCAA Championships, while 184 has four openings and heavyweight just one.
Adamson has been outstanding lately as a winner in each of his past five bouts. The Riverton, Utah native finished the regular season with a 20-14 overall record and 13-6 mark in duals. He will battle Tanner Eitel of North Carolina in his opening match. Adamson dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to Eitel during the regular season.
Roden will get another look at Nigel Jones after defeating the Wolfpack 165-pounder during the regular season. The Blue Devil sophomore upset the No. 27 Jones in the dual 7-2 to help Duke post the 22-9 victory over the Wolfpack. Roden is 8-21 overall for the year.
Ryan is scheduled to go up against Alex Utley of North Carolina and Self will wrestle Mike Kosoy of NC State in the opening bouts. Utley posted a 14-2 major decision over Ryan during the regular season, while Self lost a hard-fought 5-3 decision to Kosoy in the previous dual.
Rounding out Duke's contingent is redshirt senior Peter Terrezza and sophomore Tanner Hough as No. 6 seeds at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively. Terrezza will wrestle Shane Gentry of Maryland in the opener, while Hough will look to garner his second NCAA Championship appearance with four bids available at 141. Hough is set for Joe Spisak of Virginia in the opening bout with the winner advancing to battle No. 2 Zach Neibert.
The doors to Comcast will open at 10 a.m., with first- round action set to begin at 11 a.m. The semifinals are set for 1 p.m., followed by the semifinal consolation matches at 3:30. The consolation finals are set for 5 p.m., followed by the championship matches at 7 p.m. All seating for the ACC Championship is general admission. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door, with ages 3 and under admitted free.
All rounds of the 2013 ACC Wrestling Championship will be carried live by ESPN3, which plans dual mat coverage.
