Just over a month ago, Old Dominion made a trip to New Jersey and came back with three straight losses including a 20-13 loss to Rutgers.

On Friday, the Monarchs avenged that defeat and earned a 29-9 win over the second-seeded and shorthanded Scarlet Knights to highlight the first day of the 32nd annual Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va.

Bonus victories by Scott Festejo at 133, John Nicholson at 157 and Tristan Warner at 165, Old Dominion earned the right to face third-seeded Kent State in Saturday’s 1 p.m. semifinals.

Rutgers was without the services of two nationally-ranked wrestlers – Scott Winston at 165 and Dan Rinaldi at 197. The Monarchs reversed three outcomes from last month’s dual, but Rutgers also reversed two bouts from the earlier dual.

The other three top seeds advanced – No. 1 Missouri, No. 3 Kent State and No. 4 Edinboro. 

Missouri beat North Dakota State 24-9 in the Tigers only match of the day after the top two seeds drew opening round byes. Missouri will face Edinboro in the top bracket semifinal. The Fighting Scots pounded Drexel 30-3 in the opening round before getting past pesky North Carolina 22-14. The Tar Heels had upended fifth-seeded Rider in the opening round.

The Missouri-Edinboro matchup will feature two of the top 197-pounders in the country – All-American Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro and streaking Brent Haynes of Missouri. Two weeks ago, Honeycutt won the Midlands, while Haynes won the Southern Scuffle.

Kent State topped The Citadel 24-12 before beating MAC rival Buffalo 22-12. Buffalo upset sixth-seeded Bucknell 19-13. 

Old Dominion held off hard-charging Arizona State in the opening round 20-19. 

The NCWA and the state of New York led the way in the American College Division. Top-seeded Brockport hammered St. Andrews 31-6. The Golden Eagles will face Central Florida, an NCWA team. The Golden Knights smashed Division III Johns Hopkins 35-11. On the other side of the bracket, Liberty’s team continued to compete despite being dropped from the roster of varsity sports last year. The Flames roared back from a 19-7 deficit to beat Division II Anderson 21-17. 

Jesse Castro’s team will face second-seeded Nassau Community College, who beat local favorite Apprentice School 49-6.