Terps Give Glimpse Of What's To Come
11/8/2003 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 8, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The University of Maryland wrestling team had its first action of the year today as it held its annual intrasquad wrestle-offs. Matches were held in the 125-, 133-, 141-, 157-, 184-, and 197-pound weight classes, Team scores were not kept.
The first match pitted experience vs. youth as senior co-captain Matt Pandullo faced off against freshman David Jacovsky at 125 pounds. In the end, Pandullo came away with the 7-5 decision.
Junior Mike Lupa looked impressive in his match against sophomore Zach Wendal at 133 pounds. Lupa took the early lead with two takedowns and didn't look back. Throughout the match he added three more takedowns and won with a 12-3 major decision.
Freshman Charlie Pinto gave Terp fans an indication of what's to come as he took on sophomore Jonathan Gunther at 141 pounds. Pinto held momentum throughout the match allowing only one point to Gunther in the third period. The result was a 9-1 major decision for Pinto.
At 157 pounds, there was another tight match as one of the top young wrestlers of the team, sophomore Jason Kiessling, competed against senior Matt Kenny. The match was tied going into the final minute when Kiessling had an athletic takedown on Kenny with 19 seconds left. The takedown and an additional point for riding time gave Kiessling the 8-5 decision.
The only fall of the day came at 184 pounds as junior Brian Mullaney pinned fellow junior Dan Scheets. The fall came just 2:02 into the match after Mullaney had already scored two takedowns.
Two newcomers faced off at 197 pounds as freshmen Jerry Afari and David Blais squared off. During the match Afari injured his hamstring, but continued to wrestle. Later in the match, Afari consulted with coaches and decided to forfeit the match to Blais due to the injury.
The final match of the day had junior Rich Vazquez matching up against freshman Ryan Brown at 125 pounds. This was another close match as Brown led by one going into the final minute when Vazquez made a quick move for the takedown to give him a 4-3 decision.
The Terps season officially begins on Nov. 22 as some wrestlers will travel to East Stroudsburg, Pa., for the East Stroudsburg Open while others compete in the Cornell Body Bar Invitational in Ithaca, N.Y.
