DURHAM, N.C. - Pins by freshmen Andrew Bannister and Conor Black led VMI to a 21-18 win over Duke in a non-conference dual at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday.  With the win, the Keydets move to 3-5 on the year, while the Blue Devils fall to 1-3.

Bannister got the Keydets off to a strong start with his pin at 133 lbs. in the day's opening match.  The freshman was ahead 5-0 in the second period when he pinned Nick Adamo at the 3:50 mark, improving to 7-4 on the season with his second dual win in as many days.

The Blue Devils answered with back-to-back wins at 141 and 149 lbs. to tie the score at six.  Mike Bell used three first-period takedowns to defeat David Yost 10-7 at 141, while Brent Jorge scored an escape late in the third period to break a 3-3 tie, then got the riding time point to defeat Michael Long, 5-3.

Joe Munno scored a key win at 157 lbs. for the Keydets, dispatching Christopher Piccolella, 8-3.  With the bout tied at two going to the third period, Munno scored an early escape and netted a pair of takedowns and the riding time point to put VMI up, 9-6.

Black came out aggressive at 165 lbs., scoring a takedown and a three-point near fall early in the first period against Spencer Jasper, who was wrestling up from 141 for the Blue Devils.  Black led 9-0 midway through the second period when he pinned Jasper, his team-leading fourth fall of the year, to give VMI a 15-6 advantage midway through the match.

Andrew Szymborski continued VMI's run at 174 lbs., taking on Voris Tejada for the third time in two seasons.  Szymborski, who lost each of the previous two match-ups, including a 3-2 decision earlier this year, fell behind 1-0 on Tejada's escape in the second period.  Despite taking the early lead, Tejada was issued a stall warning in the second period that loomed large late.  Szymborski tied the match in the third with his escape, then moved ahead 2-1 when Tejada was issued a second stall warning, resulting in a penalty point.  Neither wrestler scored for the remainder of the match, giving VMI a third straight win.

The Blue Devils cut into the 12-point Keydet advantage with back-to-back wins at 184 and 197 lbs.  Diego Bencomo overwhelmed Vinnie Gallo with a 14-2 major decision at 184 before nationally-ranked John Barone ran up a 16-1 technical fall on Ronnie Ellsworth at 197.

With VMI hanging on to an 18-15 lead and just two matches remaining, heavyweight Josh Wine stepped to the mat looking to extend his undefeated mark on the season.  Wine began with a pair of takedowns of Andrew Fulk in the first period, though Fulk cut the deficit to 4-2 going to the third.  Wine chose the bottom position in the third and scored a reversal and a technical fall en route to a 9-3 decision, putting VMI up 21-15.

The final match of the day pitted Duke's Peter Terrezza and VMI's John Pope at 125 lbs.  Terrezza, needing a pin to give the Blue Devils a tie, scored two takedowns, an escape and a pair of penalty points against Pope, but could not get the fall he needed.  The result was a 7-0 result that spelled a loss for Pope but a win for the Keydets.

"I'm really excited for the guys," said VMI head coach John "Rocky" Trudgeon.  "We won on bonus points, we just had more than Duke did.  We won a close match or two and got a pretty good lead and then withstood their charge.  They were good at 184 and 197, thankfully we had a lot in our war chest at that point.  Then Josh came through with a big win.  We wrestled better technically today, which gave us a chance to win.  Hopefully we'll be able to build on that Friday against Davidson and Millersville."

The win was VMI's first against an ACC opponent since defeating Duke, 22-15, on Nov. 13, 2005.  It also marked VMI's first road win since defeating The Citadel, 21-18, on Feb. 18, 2007.

The Keydets return to action on Friday, hosting a tri-meet against Millersville and SoCon foe Davidson.  VMI will take on Davidson at 4:30 p.m., Davidson and Millersville will square off at 6 p.m. before the Keydets and Millersville cap the night at 7:30 p.m.

VMI 21, Duke 18 (Jan. 17, 2010)
133 - Andrew Bannister (VMI) fall Nick Adamo (Duke), 3:50
141 - Mike Bell (Duke) dec. David Yost (VMI), 10 - 7
149 - Brent Jorge (Duke) dec. Michael Long (VMI), 5 - 3
157 - Joe Munno (VMI) dec. Christopher Piccolella (Duke), 8 - 3
165 - Conor Black (VMI) fall Spencer Jasper (Duke), 4:02
174 - Andrew Szymborski (VMI) dec. Voris Tejada (Duke), 2 - 1
184 - Diego Bencomo (Duke) maj. dec. Vinnie Gallo (VMI), 14 - 2
197 - John Barone (Duke) tech. fall Ronnie Ellsworth (VMI), 16 - 1
285 - Josh Wine (VMI) dec. Andrew Fulk (Duke), 9 - 3
125 - Peter Terrezza (Duke) dec. John Pope (VMI), 7 - 0