NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Duhawks.com) – Heading into the 2014 Gator Duals as the eighth-ranked team in the country, the Loras Wrestling program knew that they were going to have teams gunning for them and would have to bring their very best. Despite leading in each of their duals, Loras finished the day 1-3, tallying the lone victory over Ferrum College.
 
#8 Loras vs. Waynesburg
In their first dual of the day, Loras jumped out to a 15-6 lead in team points following a pin by senior Steven DeWitt at 157 against Derek Hull. DeWitt was originally billed to wrestle Luke Lohr who entered the weekend ranked eighth in the 157 weight class, but opted to wrestle at 149#. Preceding DeWitt was a fall at 141# by sophomore Nick Steger.
 
Unfortunately for the Duhawks, the wheels fell off at 165# as Loras lost three straight matches, two by decision and one by fall. At 174#, senior Joe Butler trailed 6-2 heading into the third period and scored two escapes and one takedown to cut the lead to just one against seventh-ranked Sam Guidi. Butler fell just short from pulling the upset, as Guidi tacked on a riding time point to finish off Butler 8-6.
 
Junior Malcolm Watson gave his team a crucial four points with a 19-6 major decision over Gennaro Bonaventure to give the Duhawks a 19-18 lead heading into the heavyweight bought.
 
Still wrestling without last year's national champion, James Buss, freshman Connor Swier wrestled up from his normal 197# and battled valiantly until the very end, but was unable to overcome the significant weight differential, falling to Greg Kumer 3-1, giving Waynesburg the dual victory, 21-19.
 
#8 Loras vs. #22 Alma
Immediately following their first dual, Loras changed mats and prepared themselves for their next matchup with the Fighting Scots of Alma College.
 
Freshman Vinny Elizalde got Loras started off on the right foot against Tyler Foley. After suffering two takedowns in the first period, Elizalde responded by scoring six unanswered points by way of a three-point near-fall, a takedown, and an escape. Foley answered with an escape in the third period but couldn't secure a takedown, falling 9-5.
 
Freshman Michael Triplett responded well after his opening dual loss scoring a takedown in the opening period. An escape by Zachary Case in the second period knotted the bout at two before Triplett scored an escape followed by a takedown in the third to secure the 5-2 victory.
 
At 141#, Steger cruised to an 8-0 major decision, highlighted by a reversal and near-fall in the second period.
 
Alma scored their first points of the dual at 149# as James Carey defeated sophomore Evan Weaver 8-4.
 
DeWitt's rampage on Division III opponents continued against Shawn Brewer as the senior bulldozed his way to a 15-5 major decision. The last decision DeWitt scored was at the Concordia Wisconsin when he defeated Santonio Cathery of University of Wisconsin.
 
At 165#, Matt Tuttle quickly took down Tyler Ries in the first period and secured the fall in 45 seconds, cutting into the Loras lead, making it 14-9.
 
In the next match, senior Joe Butler took on fifth-ranked Jamie Jakes, battling hard and scoring two escapes in the first period. Butler elected to start down in the second period and scored an escape before securing a takedown to take the lead 5-4.
 
At 5-5 heading into the third period, Jakes took matters into his own hands, scoring an escape and using the riding time to grab the 9-6 decision.
 
After Watson's late takedown against Jared Groeneveld at 197# secured the 3-2 win, Loras held a slim lead at 17-15 heading into the heavyweight bout.
 
Trevor Maresh finished the job in the first period against Swier after scoring a takedown and two near-falls to secure the pin at 2:35, giving Alma the win, 21-17.
 
#8 Loras vs. Ferrum
After starting their day 0-2, Loras came out in their third dual against Ferrum looking to get a strong start. Uncharacteristically, however, the Duhawks failed to score points in their first match as Elizalde fell in overtime to Robert Cunningham, 3-2.
 
At 133#, Triplett found himself behind early after Justin Zimmerman scored an early takedown. Those two points would be the last that Zimmerman would score as Triplett turned it on and ripped off six straight points. After time expired, Zimmerman was tagged with two unsportsmanlike violations, resulting in a loss of two team points and gave Triplett a six-point win because of the disqualification.
 
Fueling off the win at 133#, the Duhawks rattled off five more wins, running the score to 28-3 thanks to pins at 157 by DeWitt and at 165 by junior Ben Kindle, and a tech fall by Butler at 174#.
 
At Heavyweight, Tate Dulany opted to start on bottom in the second period and his choice came back to haunt him. Unable to quickly get out of the down position, Dulany couldn't escape and surrendered a three-point near-fall to Swier. Finally after escaping, Swier went back to work and sored a takedown to get the 5-1 advantage.
 
Despite being hit for two stalling points, Swier held on and grabbed the decision at 5-4, and in the process, secured the dual victory for the Duhawks.

#8 Loras vs. #3 Delaware Valley
Heading into the weekend, the Loras/Delaware Valley matchup was one of the top duals pegged for the Gator Duals. With four wrestlers ranked in the top-10, Delaware Valley suffered their first dual setback to Heidelberg University, falling 18-16, only to bounce back with victories over Luther College (24-15) and Saint John's University (30-14).
 
Elizalde faced his first ranked opponent of the day at 125# in Connor Kirkegard. A fairly quiet match, neither wrestler scored in the first two periods. Kirkegard was able to secure a riding time point after he rode out Elizalde for the full two minutes in the second period. Electing to start neutral in the third, Elizalde grabbed a takedown in the final minute and held on for the remainder of the match to grab the 2-1 win.
 
Steger completed his undefeated day at 141# with a 9-0 major decision over Sekou Harris. He only needed two takedowns to get the job done in combination with the stalling points he received.
 
At 149#, Weaver had a tall order in front of him battling Vincent Fava, the top-ranked wrestler in the weight class. After a tough first period that saw Fava score a takedown and two-point near-fall, Weaver grinded his way back, but had difficulty connecting on his shots. Weaver's second point came as a result of a stalling call on Fava. In the end, Fava took the win 6-2.
 
DeWitt capped his day with his fourth win and second major decision, defeating Jeff Reimel 16-6.  He scored five takedowns and the six points he surrendered were all as a result of cutting. None of DeWitt's four victories were decisions, all were either a major decision, tech fall or pin.
 
Butler scored the final victory of the match for Loras at 174#, thanks largely in part to a strong opening period. Both wrestlers came out with high energy and intensity, resulting in four takedowns between the two. While each grappler scored two takedowns, Butler added a reverse on Benjamin Schweiger's first takedown.
 
As the match went on, Butler's strength continued to mount as his high crotch single leg takedown was on point.  Trailing by one to start the third period, Butler managed an escape and followed it up with another takedown to earn the decision.
 
Delaware Valley scored back-to-back pins at 184 and 197 to take the final 12 team points and seal the 26-14 victory.