Feb. 21, 2016
#BoilerNotes
- Danny Sabatello bypassed Tony Vaughn (1993-97) to take over at No. 14 on the career takedowns list ... he has 255 in his career ... his next benchmark is 264.
- Sabatello finished his dual career by making his 49th consecutive start ... Andy Hoselton made his first dual start since Nov. 24, 2013.
- Tanner Lynde finished tied with Chad Welch for the team lead in dual points scored with 49.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A trio of wrestlers posted major decisions and another received a forfeit in a 28-18 loss to Duke on Senior Day. The 23rd-ranked Boilermakers concluded the dual portion of their schedule with a 9-8, 3-6 Big Ten record Sunday inside Holloway Gymnasium.
Wrestling in his 60th and final career dual, 141-pounder Danny Sabatello put on a show. He hit Zach Finesilver with a flurry of takedowns in the first and third periods on his way to a 13-5 major decision.
"[Winning at home] means a lot because there is so much tradition in this gym and so much blood, sweat and tears that have gone into everything," Sabatello said. "It is great to come out here in front of the crowd and come out on top with the W."
He registered his fourth major decision of his senior campaign and the 11th of his career. Sabatello heads into the Big Ten Championships with a 16-13 record looking to earn his third trip to the NCAA Championships.
"The next two weeks; it is show time," the two-time qualifier said. "I do not want to say that the matches before these did not matter, because they did and they were special, but these last few weeks are what really matter."
The Blue Devils went on to take the next four weights from an altered Purdue lineup, building a 24-10 lead.
Tanner Lynde notched the second major decision for the Boilermakers with a 13-1 outing against Trey Adamson at 184 pounds. Hungry for the pin, Lynde followed his early takedown with a four-point nearfall for a 6-0 lead after the opening period. The redshirt junior (12-11) added two more takedowns and 3:47 riding time for his first major of the season.
"Tanner had a strong first half of the match, I would have liked to see him finish a bit stronger," Purdue head wrestling coach Tony Ersland said. "I wanted to see him keep coming after that guy and keep building his lead. We need to sustain that kind of effort. He had great effort and execution early, he has got to keep it coming."
The dual closed out at with a 10-1 major decision from heavyweight Tyler Kral vs. Brendan Walsh. Kral took the Blue Devil down once in the opening period and twice in the third for his ninth win of the season.
Each team forfeited a weight class; Luke Welch received the forfeit at 133 for the Boilermakers and at 157, Connor Bass won by forfeit for Duke.
The postseason awaits, starting with the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City, Iowa, on March 5 and 6, where the Boilermakers, along with a three returning NCAA qualifiers, will look to earn their ticket to the NCAA Championships.
"It is nice to have two weeks to train," Ersland said. "We have not had that [during the season] because of the Big Ten schedule. We have a few guys with bumps and bruises, so we will take a few days to let them heal up and then we will start back at it. We will focus on what's important for each guy going into Big Tens."