Blacksburg, Va. – The Hokies (7-3, 2-1 ACC) defended Cassell Coliseum in dominating fashion, dispatching the visiting Blue Devils 42-3 in the return of Friday Night Duals to Blacksburg.
Bonus points were abundant as No. 20 Sam Latona, No. 5 Korbin Myers, No. 22 Collin Gerardi, No. 5 Bryce Andonian, No. 10 Hunter Bolen, and No. 14 Nathan Traxler all powered the Hokies to a dominating victory in front of 2,136 strong in Cassell.
Highlighted by Andonian's 0:21 fall over ranked opponent No. 14 Josh Finesilver and No. 3 Mekhi Lewis' ranked win over No. 15 Matt Finesilver, the Hokies won nine of ten matches in Blacksburg.
UP NEXT
Tech shifts focus to next Friday night as they host the visiting Tar Heels at 7 p.m. on the ACC Network in another Friday Night Duals event.
SHORT TIME AGAINST DUKE
- No. 20 Sam Latona continues his winning streak with a dominant 19-2 tech fall to start off the dual in Blacksburg. Latona improves his season record to 9-6 with two conference duals left on the slate.
- No. 22 Collin Gerardi earned a shutout victory in Cassell as he made his debut in the Intermat rankings. Gerardi had two takedowns, a reversal, and an escape to put on an 8-0 victory to propel the Hokies lead through three matches.
- In the bout's first ranked bout of the evening, No. 5 Bryce Andonian was electric once again as he pinned No. 14 Josh Finesilver. The Hokie bested his first two pins over Finesilver in their career with a 0:21 pin. Andonian now has four ranked wins on the season.
- Clayton Ulrey put on a workman like performance, knocking on six takedowns to pick up the 14-5 victory. Ulrey has won eight of his last ten matches to improve his record to 14-11.
- No. 3 Mekhi Lewis put on a savvy performance as he bested No. 15 Matt Finesilver, 6-2. The 2019 national champion used slick reattacks to remain undefeated on the season with another ranked win under his belt.
- Hometown native No. 10 Hunter Bolen was dominant on Cassell floor once again. Bolen picked up a dominant 15-0 tech fall with two takedowns and two sets of four-point nearfalls, an escape, and riding time point to put an exclamation on a strong performance.
- No. 32 Dakota Howard was a dog on a bone through the bout – picking up four takedowns on the night. The redshirt junior rebounds after a tough loss to No. 8 Nino Bonaccorsi of Pitt last Sunday.
- No. 14 Nathan Traxler put the exclamation point on the night with a pin. Traxler secured a low double for the takedown and added a bow and arrow sequence for four nearfall into the eventual fall. With the win, Traxler picked up career win 93.
BOX SCORE
#7 Virginia Tech – 42, Duke – 3
125 – No. 20 Sam Latona (VT) TECH FALL Ty Naquin (DUKE), 19-2, 4:38
133 – No. 5 Korbin Myers (VT) winner via Forfeit
141 – No. 22 Collin Gerardi (VT) MAJ DEC Patrick Rowland (DUKE), 8-0
149 – No. 5 Bryce Andonian (VT) FALL No. 14 Josh Finesilver (DUKE), 0:21
157 – Wade Unger (DUKE) DEC No. 21 Connor Brady (VT), 4-3
165 – Clayton Ulrey (VT) MAJ DEC Gabe Dinette (DUKE), 14-5
174 – No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (VT) DEC No. 15 Matt Finesilver (DUKE), 6-2
184 – No. 10 Hunter Bolen (VT) TECH FALL Vincent Baker (DUKE), 15-0, 7:00
197 – No. 32 Dakota Howard (VT) DEC Kaden Russell (DUKE), 10-5
285 – No. 14 Nathan Traxler (VT) FALL Jonah Niesenbaum (DUKE), 2:13Gallery: (2-4-2022) WRE: Duke Match