Wrestling falls to Wisconsin in National Duals

Three members of the No. 22 Arizona State University wrestling team won their matches, but it was not enough to send the Sun Devils to a victory as No. 18 Wisconsin captured a 23-10 decision in the consolation first round of the 2010 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals inside the UNI Dome on Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Saturday. With the loss, the Sun Devils fell to 4-4 overall on the year and were eliminated from the tournament while the Badgers improved to 3-4 on the season.

No. 3 Anthony Robles opened the dual at 125 pounds and, for the second time on the day, won by major decision, this time scoring a 9-1 defeat of Drew Hammen, to put the Sun Devils on top, 4-0. The lead was short-lived, however, as No. 7 Tyler Graff scored a 12-3 major decision over ASU’s Ben Ashmore to knot the score at four each and start a run of five wins in a row for the Badgers.

UW won the next two bouts by identical 6-0 scores with Cole Schmitt upsetting No. 16 Chris Drouin at 141 before No. 2 Kyle Ruschell stopped Vicente Varela at 149 pounds. Michael Swigart put up a strong fight once again at 157 pounds, but Greg Burke won the match, 8-6, before No. 1 Andrew Howe downed Kyle DeBerry with a 16-5 major decision for a 17-4 Badger lead.

Eric Starks picked-up ASU’s second win of the dual as he took a 10-3 decision over Jim Duffy at 174 pounds, but UW won the next two matches with Jake Meredith falling in a 5-2 decision at 184 to Travis Rutt and Anthony Pike dropping a 6-3 decision to Jackson Hein at 197. With the team scored at 23-7, No. 13 Erik Nye took to the mat at heavyweight and won his match, 3-1, to end the dual with the Sun Devils on the short end of a 23-10 score.

The Sun Devils return to the road next weekend for a trio of duals on Saturday, January 16, at the 2010 Lone Star Duals in Arlington, Texas, and open the competition at 10 a.m. CT against Harvard. ASU also will face Air Force (2 p.m. CT) and Utah Valley (8 p.m. CT) that day.

#18 Wisconsin (3-4) def. #22 Arizona State (4-4), 23-10
UNI Dome • Cedar Falls, Iowa • NWCA National Duals
125 - #3 Anthony Robles (AS) major Drew Hammen, 9-1
133 - #7 Tyler Graff (W) major Ben Ashmore, 12-3
141 - Cole Schmitt (W) dec. #16 Chris Drouin, 6-0
149 - #2 Kyle Ruschell (W) dec. Vicente Varela, 6-0
157 - Greg Burke (W) dec. Michael Swigart, 8-6
165 - #1 Andrew Howe (W) major Kyle DeBerry, 16-5
174 - Eric Starks (AS) dec. Jim Duffy, 10-3
184 - Travis Rutt (W) dec. Jake Meredith, 5-2
197 - Jackson Hein (W) dec. Anthony Pike, 6-3
285 - #13 Erik Nye (AS) dec. Eric Bugenhagen, 3-1