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Duke Well Represented in 1st RPI Rankings
2/10/2017 6:48:00 PM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C. – A total of five Blue Devils earned spots in the first wrestling RPI rankings released by the NCAA Friday afternoon. Two Duke wrestlers also were among the top 30 in the second edition of the coaches' panel rankings.
Heavyweight Jacob Kasper and 174-pounder Connor Bass represented the Blue Devils in the coaches' panel rankings, coming in at third and 23rd, respectively. Kasper jumped three spots since the first release, while Bass dropped from 15th. The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Joining Kasper and Bass in the RPI listings in their weight divisions are junior Thayer Atkins (125), redshirt senior Cole Baumgartner (133) and redshirt sophomore Zach Finesilver (141). The wrestler's RPI ranking will be taken into consideration along with winning percentage and the coaches' rankings when NCAA selections are being made.
Kasper, sporting a 26-1 overall record and 20-match win streak, comes in at No. 5 in the RPI, while Bass is 17th. Bass is 16-10 overall on the year with five of the 10 setbacks coming against top 20 opponents. He also owns four wins over ranked foes. Kasper is a perfect 6-0 in bouts with top 20 opponents.
A winner in five of his previous six bouts, Baumgartner is 24th at 133 after improving to 18-9 overall with a technical fall victory over North Carolina this past week. He is 2-2 against ACC opponents and 8-4 in duals.
Both Finesilver and Atkins landed at 28th in their respective weight classes. Atkins is having a career year, ranking second on the team in wins with a 19-8 overall record. He recently edged RPI No. 23 James Szymanski of North Carolina this past week.
Finesilver, an NCAA qualifier his first season, is 14-10 overall with six of the 10 losses coming against top 20 opponents. The Colorado native is one of four ACC wrestlers represented in the top 33.
Duke will finish its 2017 regular season schedule Feb. 18 at Pittsburgh. The match is set for 7 p.m.
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