LEXINGTON, Va. ? A furious VMI rally fell just short, as Duke secured a 19-18 win in non-conference wrestling action at The Thunderdome on Wednesday evening.

The Keydets (0-7) won three of the final four matches, including the final bout by an 18-5 major decision, but were unable to overcome an early surge by the Blue Devils (6-3) . 

“I thought that the effort was there tonight for us, there were some really fine matches,” said VMI head coach John Trudgeon.  “I thought that if it was a tight match, that we should win the last four matches.  It's hard to swallow to come up just one point short.  This team needs a win desperately.  To come close is motivating, it should give our young guys some confidence and hopefully some momentum going forward, but we just didn't make it happen tonight.”

The proceedings began at 149, where VMI freshman Joe Munno took a 5-4 through one period over Duke redshirt freshman Dan Adamo.  Munno took control in the second period, using a reversal early on, followed later by a takedown on his way to a 14-7 decision.

The Keydets moved ahead 7-0 with Michael Long's 18-7 major decision at 157.  Long scored three takedowns and a three-point near fall to jump out to a 9-2 advantage through one period and never looked back in scoring his 11th win of the season.

“We got off to a good start,” said Trudgeon.  “Joe Munno came out and gave us a super effort, he stayed aggressive and got a good win.  Mike Long had lost earlier in the year to the kid that he beat tonight, and won convincingly.”

The tide turned in the next match, as Duke's Addison Nuding scored a 12-2 major decision at 165.  Nuding jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first period on Jayme Gordon, scoring a takedown early on, followed by a three-point near fall.  Gordon cut the lead to 5-2 early in the second on a reversal, however, could net nothing else as Nuding got the Blue Devils on the scoreboard at 7-4.

The visitors knotted the score at seven when junior Voris Tejada won a 10-3 decision at 174.  Tejada scored four takedowns in the match against freshman Andrew Szymborski, who could manage only three escapes in the bout.

Junior John Barone gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the match, improving to 29-5 overall and 7-0 in duals this season with a pin in 1:18 of Keydet freshman Tommy Kendzia.  The lead grew to 16-7 in Duke's favor after the 197-pound match, as junior Dan Tulley scored a 4-0 decision against sophomore Ronnie Ellsworth.

The Keydet comeback began at heavyweight, thanks to sophomore Josh Wine.  Wine battled through a scoreless first period against Duke redshirt sophomore Robert Holbrook before getting on the scoreboard with a reversal early in the second period.  Holbrook escaped later in the second and chose the down position to begin the third period, but was unable to escape as Wine won a 3-1 decision with the riding time point added in.

VMI cut the Duke advantage to 16-14 with a win at 125 lbs., where redshirt sophomore John Pope avenged a previous loss to freshman Peter Terrezza.  A month previous, Terrezza pinned Pope at the Davidson Open, but Pope got his revenge with a 12-3 major decision.

The match moved to 133, where a win by Keydet freshman Michael Bowman would have put the Keydets back on top.  Bowman appeared to be in good shape, leading 6-2 in the third period, before Duke freshman Jack Anderson strung together a two-point reversal and a three-point near fall to steal the match, 7-6.

With VMI trailing 19-14 going to the final match of the night at 141 lbs., freshman Luke Todd mounted a valiant effort for the Keydets in trying to secure at least a tie.  Todd nearly pinned freshman Nick Adamo, who was wrestling up a weight from 133, late in the second period.  The Keydet ran up over three minutes of riding time despite continually allowing Adamo to escape, however, the final margin ended up at 18-5, just two points shy of a five-point technical fall that would have netted the Keydets a tie in the match.

VMI returns to action next Thursday, returning to Southern Conference action in taking on The Citadel at 7:30 p.m. at The Thunderdome.

Duke 19, VMI 18 (1/28/09)
149 Joe Munno (VMI) DEC Daniel Adamo (Duke), 14-7; VMI 3-0
157 Mike Long (VMI) MD Mike Bell (Duke), 18-7; VMI 7-0
165 Addison Nuding (Duke) MD Jayme Gordon (VMI), 12-2; VMI 7-4
174 Voris Tejada (Duke) DEC Andrew Szymborski (VMI), 10-3; Tied 7-7
184 John Barone (Duke) FALL Tommy Kendzia (VMI), 1:18; Duke 13-7
197 Dan Tulley (Duke) DEC Ronnie Ellsworth (VMI), 4-0; Duke 16-7
285 Josh Wine (VMI) DEC Robert Holbrook (Duke), 3-1; Duke 16-10
125 John Pope (VMI) MD Peter Terrezza (Duke), 12-3; Duke 16-14
133 Jack Anderson (Duke) DEC Michael Bowman (VMI), 7-6; Duke 19-14
141 Luke Todd (VMI) MD Nick Adamo (Duke), 18-5; Duke 19-18