The Citadel Defeats Duke for Third-Straight Win

The 22-point win over the Blue Devils ties the record for the largest margin of victory over Duke for The Citadel. The Bulldogs also won by 22 points when they earned a 25-3 decision on Feb. 12, 1962 in Durham. The 31 points is also tied for the most points scored against the Blue Devils with the squad that won 31-16 on Jan. 24, 2004.

Richard Alarcon started things off at 125 with a forfeit win. Tyler Sim then used a pair of takedowns in the first period at 133 pounds before pinning Duke’s Nick Adamo just before the opening stanza ended at the 2:54 mark to give the Bulldogs a 12-0 team lead.

At 141 pounds, Jordan Dix used three early takedowns in the first period and a late takedown in the third to hold off Duke’s Mike Bell, 12-9. Derek Royster then picked up a takedown in each of the three periods to down the Blue Devils’ Andrew Guardado, 8-3.

Pierre Frazile would continue to keep the Bulldogs rolling as he used three takedowns in the first period and two late takedowns in the third period to defeat Duke’s Chris Mullen, 11-5 and increase The Citadel’s team lead to 21-0. No. 9 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj was in a battle with Duke’s Willy Mello early, but three late takedowns by the Bulldog in the final period would seal Mello’s fate as Luvsandorj improved to 25-4 on the season with a 12-4 major decision at 165 pounds.

The match of the night would take place at 174 pounds as No. 32 J.C. Oddo squared off with Duke’s Brett Klopp, who came in with a record of 19-6. An early takedown by Oddo would be matched when Klopp reversed and then registered a three-point nearfall to end the first period. A late takedown by Oddo in the third period would not be enough as Klopp reversed it and scored the win, 10-4, to give Duke their first points of the match.

Justin Sparrow put things back in The Citadel’s favor at 184 pounds as he overcame an early takedown by Duke’s Diego Bencomo with an escape and a takedown of his own before pinning the Blue Devil at the 1:49 mark to put the Bulldogs in a commanding 31-3 team lead.

At 184 pounds, the Blue Devils’ Brian Self and Kelby Smith swapped escape points, but the difference in the match proved to be a point for unnecessary roughness assessed against Smith to give Duke the 2-1 victory. At heavyweight, Duke’s Brian Self used a takedown in each of the first two periods and two in the final period to upend Luke Johnson, 10-4, to complete the action.

Results:
125: Richard Alarcon (CIT) wins via forefit
133: Tyler Sim (CIT) pinned Nick Adamo (DUKE), 2:54
141: Jordan Dix (CIT) dec. Mike Bell (DUKE), 12-9
149: Derek Royster (CIT) dec. Andrew Guardado (DUKE), 8-3
157: Pierre Frazile (CIT) dec. Chris Mullen (DUKE), 11-5
165: #9 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (CIT) major dec. Willy Mello (DUKE), 12-4
174: Brett Klopp (DUKE) dec. #32 J.C. Oddo (CIT), 10-4
184: Justin Sparrow (CIT) pinned Diego Bencomo (DUKE), 1:49
197: Brian Self (DUKE) dec. Kelby Smith (CIT), 2-1
HWT: Andrew Fulk (DUKE) dec. Luke Johnson (CIT), 10-4

The Citadel heads to Arlington, Texas on Saturday to take on tough national competition at the Lone Star Duals when they face No. 22 Stanford, No. 7 Oklahoma, Utah Valley and Northern Colorado. A full recap and agate will follow the action. For more information on Bulldog Wrestling, visit CitadelSports.com.