Every wrestler on the 35-man ASU roster knew that facing sixth-ranked Oklahoma on its own turf Thursday might be the toughest test of the year.
First-year head coach Thom Ortiz had guided the Sun Devils to a No. 11 ranking in the NWCA polls heading into Thursday's finale. But his team did not respond the way it had anticipated, dropping its fifth dual meet, 38-6.
With the loss to the Sooners (17-5), the Sun Devils finish the season with a 9-5 record. ASU came out on top in only two of 10 matches against Oklahoma.
The Sooners recorded a pair of victories in the evening's first five matches. Wrestling in place of ASU senior Eric Gladish, who at match time was deemed not healthy enough to compete in the 197-pound weight class, was 184-pound freshman Scott Hollingsworth. He lost a respectable 16-5 decision to 13th-ranked Oklahoma junior Tom Grossman. The Sun Devils also forfeited the 125-pound match when freshman Mike Simpson couldn't compete.
Perhaps the biggest upset in all of collegiate wrestling took place Thursday at Oklahoma's Howard McCasland Field House, as top-ranked ASU junior Eric Larkin stepped onto the mat to face junior Nate Parker in the 141-pound match. Parker got the best of Larkin, which led to a shocking 6-4 decision.
Sixth-ranked senior All-American David Douglas owned one of ASU's two victories with another major upset during the 133-pound match. Douglas defeated third-ranked junior Witt Durden in a 7-4 decision.
Although the Sun Devils experienced one of their most depressing flights home late Thursday night, there is still a glimmer of hope that can surface with the postseason lingering in the wing. Ortiz must now refocus his battered team toward next month's Pac-10 Championships in Corvallis, Ore.
Reach the reporter at damien.tippett@asu.edu.
