No. 21 Purdue Blasts Duke 27-7

Nov 16, 2013 by FloWrestling Staff

No. 21 Purdue Blasts Duke 27-7

Boilermakers win eight bouts en route to first dual win of season.

	No. 16/17 Braden Atwood

Nov. 16, 2013

Video Highlights

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 21 Purdue wrestling team won eight of 10 bouts en route to a 27-7 win over Duke in Holloway Gymnasium Saturday. Wrestling in his first dual for the Boilermakers, redshirt freshman Kyle Ayersman ignited a crowd celebrating 100 years of Purdue wrestling with a fall at 133 pounds. Key decisions were registered by No. 16/17 Braden Atwood in a battle of ranked wrestlers and Brandon Nelsen rallied late for a win in sudden victory.

"We had some guys that were out on the mat for the first time this season and we also had some highlights today with Ayersman, Nelsen and Atwood," head wrestling coach Scott Hinkel said. "I was happy we were able to come out and get the win. This was a confidence builder for some of our guys; it's all building blocks for the season."

Ayersman needed just 29 seconds to take 2013 NCAA qualifier Brandon Gambucci down. He locked in on a farside cradle and seconds later got the pin at 1:43. Although his first dual match was short, it was big for the Dyer, Ind., native, who improves to 4-2.

"I thought I'd get it [the pin] right away, but I just had to maneuver him a little bit in order to get both his shoulders on the mat. It's a big confidence boost being able to pin an NCAA qualifier. I am really excited to wrestle at Minnesota."

"He's a three-time Indiana high school state champ and he beat an All-American in wrestle-offs," Hinkel said of his 133-pounder. "Ayersman has high expectations and he expects to win. It was a nice win for him, being able to take down an NCAA qualifier."

In the lone matchup between ranked wrestlers, Atwood notched a 10-3 decision over No. 19/18 Conner Hartmann at 197 pounds. The redshirt junior took down the Blue Devil four times to pick up his fifth win of the season.

Up until time expired, Nelsen was wrestling from behind against Connor Bass in the 149-pound match. Facing a 4-1 deficit, Bass was in control with mere seconds remaining in the third period, but Nelsen was able to reverse him and put a tilt on for a two-point nearfall to take a 5-4 lead as the horn sounded. Riding time acquired by Bass tied the score at 5-5. Nelsen got the match-winning takedown with eight seconds remaining in sudden victory for a 7-5 decision.

Purdue will hit the road for a pair of weekend duals Nov. 22 and 24. The Boilermakers will face their first Big Ten foe of the season when they travel to Minneapolis to take on second-ranked Minnesota at 7:30 p.m. CT on Nov. 22. They will then travel to Edwardsville, Ill., to face SIU-Edwardsville at 1 p.m. CT on Nov. 24.

No. 21 Purdue 27, Duke 7
174: Trey Adamson (Duke) maj. dec. Andy Hoselton (Purdue), 14-6
184: Tanner Lynde (Purdue) dec. Jacob Kasper (Duke), 6-4
197: No. 16/17 Braden Atwood (Purdue) dec. No. 19/18 Connor Hartmann (Duke), 10-3
285: Alex White (Purdue) dec. Brian Self (Duke), 8-2
125: No. 19 Camden Eppert (Purdue) dec. Evan Botwin (Duke), 7-2
133: Kyle Ayersman (Purdue) pin Brandon Gambucci, 1:43
141: Danny Sabatello (Purdue) dec. Xaviel Ramos (Duke), 12-5
149: Brandon Nelsen (Purdue) dec. Connor Bass (Duke), 7-5 (SV1)
157: Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Duke) dec. Doug Welch (Purdue), 6-3
165: Chad Welch (Purdue) dec. Marcus Cain (Duke), 5-4