Terps Host Eagles in Wrestling Match
1/27/2004 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 27, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland returns to the home mat on Wednesday evening when it hosts American University in a non-conference dual wrestling match at Ritchie Coliseum. First bout is 7:30 p.m. for the match, which is free to the public.
The Terrapins, 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, lost to North Carolina, 19-15, in their last outing. The Wednesday match was moved from its originally scheduled date last Saturday. Maryland's match against McDaniel College, originally set for Wednesday, has been cancelled.
The Terrapins are fielding a young squad under first-year head coach Pat Santoro. Maryland has only two seniors on the 2003-04 roster, with one in the regular starting lineup. The Terps have put as many as five underclassmen in the lineup over the course of the past couple weeks.
In Santoro, Maryland attracted one of the brightest young coaches in the nation to College Park. A two-time NCAA national champion and four-time All-American, Santoro is at Maryland after serving the past nine seasons as the assistant coach at Lehigh University. There, he was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Maryland has been led during the dual-match season by senior Matt Pandullo, who is 4-1 at 125 pounds. Pandullo, who joins Matt Kenny as the lone seniors on the Maryland wrestling team in 2003-04, has won six of his last seven matches to improve to 12-7 overall. Each of his last three bouts have been decided by one point, with only a 3-2 loss to Jeremy Hartrum of NC State being a blemish on his dual-match record.
Kenny is expected to join the Terps' lineup Wednesday at 157 pounds. The senior from Upper Saddle River, N.J., is 0-2 so far this season in dual matches.
Jason Gribschaw, a junior who wrestles at 141, leads Maryland with a 14-9 record so far this season. Gribschaw, who beat Travis Sickle of North Carolina, 8-6, last Friday, has split his four dual matches so far in 2004.
One other Terrapin wrestler enters Wednesday's action trying to join three teammates who have double figures in victories. Freshman Jerad Villecco is now 9-12 at 149 pounds after his 6-3 win over North Carolina's Andrew Slack last Friday.
The Eagles are led by junior Daniel Waters, who earned his 20th win of the season with a decision last Thursday night at American's 39-9 loss at Slippery Rock. Sophomore 149-pounder Tom Kniezewski is also having a solid season for the Eagles 15-8, while senior heavyweight Jared Hyman is 11-9.
American, directed by second-year coach Mark Cody, are now 0-7 in dual matches.
Maryland defeated American, 38-6, in the dual match between the teams held in Washington, D.C., last February.
The Terrapins are in the midst of a two-week homestand which includes all of their home dates of the season. Following Wednesday's match, Maryland hosts Virginia Military Institute on Friday at 5 p.m. before hosting a double-dual match against Duke and Rutgers on Saturday, Feb. 7.
