No. 13 Virginia Tech shut out Duke 45-0 on Friday night in its annual match at the Moss Arts Center. The Hokies dominated from start to finish and only allowed the Blue Devils to score one takedown in the entire dual.
Tech (7-3, 3-0 ACC) earned seven technical fall victories against Duke (4-11, 0-3) en route to the shutout win.
The Hokies started the night with a 16-4 major decision win from No. 5 Cooper Flynn (125) over Duke’s Logan Agin. He scored on a takedown in the first period before taking down Agin again in the second and flipping him on his back for four near fall points. After giving up a takedown in the third, Flynn escaped and scored again to secure the bonus-point win to move to 11-2 on the year.
No. 13 Sam Latona (133) earned Tech’s first technical fall victory of the night against Duke’s Raymond Adams, 18-3. He bounced-back in dominant fashion after suffering his first bonus-point defeat since 2022 against UVa.
No. 13 Tom Crook (141) continued Tech’s surge with a tech fall of his own over Duke’s Christian Colman, 16-1. The win was the 15th of the year for the Tampa, Fla., native and his fourth by technical fall.
The most contested bout of the night came at 149 pounds between Luke Robie and Duke’s Jarred Papcsy. With the match tied at one with under a minute to wrestle, the Tech freshman uplifted Papcsy and drove him to the ground for the bout-winning score, nabbing his first career dual victory, 5-1.
Really cool moment here at Moss as Luke Robie takes down Jarred Papscy for his first career dual win, 5-1.
Needed a takedown to win it, and just overpowered Papscy in the final moments. Really gritty win.
No. 13 Virginia Tech leads Duke through four bouts, 17-0. #Hokies https://t.co/8AIRQEuFU0 pic.twitter.com/j9RAt6D3fG
— Jack Brizendine (@JackPBrizendine) February 10, 2024
Clayton Ulrey (157) followed up his impressive upset win over Virginia’s No. 27 Dylan Cedeno with a suffocating 19-4 tech fall victory over Duke’s Logan Ferrero. His 10th win of the season featured six takedowns to put Tech up 22-0 at the halfway point of the dual.
No. 21 Connor Brady (165) preserved Tech’s momentum in the ensuing bout, grinding out an 8-2 win over Duke’s Gaetano Console. Leading just 3-2 at the start of the third period, he finished off Console with a takedown in the final two minutes to move to 11-6 on the year.
The final four bouts of the night were all technical fall victories for the Hokies.
No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (174) continued his dominant 2024 campaign with an empathic 17-2 technical fall win over Duke’s David Hussey. The former national champion was explosive off the whistle, collecting three takedowns and four near fall points in the first period, before sealing the win with another takedown in the second to move to 10-0 this season.
No. 21 Dakota Howard (184) earned his seventh win of the season with his 18-2 technical fall victory against Duke’s Conor Becker. Carrying an 8-0 lead into the third period, he added a pair of takedowns and three near fall points to put Becker away.
No. 25 Andy Smith (197) snagged the fastest technical fall of the dual, beating Duke’s Kwasi Bonsu 19-3 in just 2:29. He didn’t give Bonsu any room to breathe in the first period, racking up five takedowns to end the bout early.
No. 20 Hunter Catka (285) put a bow on the dual with his 17-2 tech fall win over Duke’s Connor Barket. The Tech heavyweight built the lead to 13-1 at the end of the second period and added a final takedown in the third to secure the bonus-point victory.
The blowout win moves Tech to 3-0 in the ACC, tied for first with No. 7 NC State with only two more conference duals to go — including a date with the Wolfpack in Raleigh on Feb. 23.
Tech is back in action on Saturday against George Mason at 3 p.m. ET in Cassell Coliseum (ACCNX).
Results:
125: No. 5 Cooper Flynn (VT) maj dec. Logan Agin (Duke), 16-4
133: No. 13 Sam Latona (VT) tech fall Raymond Adams (Duke), 18-3 (7:00)
141: No. 13 Tom Crook (VT) tech fall Christian Colman (Duke), 16-1 (4:17)
149: Luke Robie (VT) dec. Jarred Papcsy (Duke), 5-1
157: Clayton Ulrey (VT) tech fall Logan Ferrero (Duke), 19-4 (6:46)
165: No. 21 Connor Brady (VT) dec. Gaetano Console (Duke), 8-2
174: No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (VT) tech fall David Hussey (Duke), 17-2 (4:21)
184: No. 21 Dakota Howard (VT) tech fall Conor Becker (Duke), 18-2 (6:09)
197: No. 25 Andy Smith (VT) tech fall Kwasi Bonsu (Duke), 19-4 (2:29)
285: No. 20 Hunter Catka (VT) tech fall Connor Barket (Duke), 17-2 (7:00)
Print
Jack I think you mean ’emphatic’ win…
So, dumb question on my part, VT stumbled early, are they getting back on track? Or is Duke just that bad? Was at the UNC game, that was impressive…
VT is rounding into late season form, but mainly Duke IS THAT BAD.
Thank you Jack. An amazing night by our guys. I love reading your description of each bout.