Jan. 28, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland Terrapins (2-7-1) look to get back in the win column on Saturday with a pair of duals against Duquesne (6-3) and UNC Greensboro (6-2) at Comcast Pavilion. The Terps will first face the Dukes at noon, before Duquesne and UNC Greensboro wrestle. Following that dual, the Terps will then take on the Spartans in the third match of the day.

Catching Up With The Terps<>< the="" terps="" return="" to="" comcast="" pavilion="" after="" tying="" vmi="" (18-18)="" and="" falling="" to="" virginia="" tech="" (32-6)="" last="" weekend.="" against="" the="" keydets,="">Kevin Vinh (125) scored a pin in the first match of the day to help offset the impending forfeit at heavweight. The Keydets picked up back-to-back decisions at 133 and 141 to tie the match at 6-6, but Andrew Schlaffer, wrestling up from his usual 141 spot, edged Sam Alvarenga 4-3. After dropping a decision at 157, the Terps got victories from Jason Kiessling, Rob Parker and Mark Eberstein to surge ahead 18-9. VMI was able to win at 197 and then got the six points from the forfeit to end the match in an 18-18 tie.

Against Virginia Tech, the Hokies won in sudden victory at 125 and then picked up a fall to start the Terps out in a 9-0 hole. Charlie Pinto picked up a win at 141, but the Hokies were able to come out on top at 149 with a narrow 6-5 decision. Kiessling picked up his second victory of the weekend, defeating 20th-ranked Chris Stith, 3-2. It was Kiessling's second victory over Stith this season. Virginia Tech then closed the match with four straight victories, winning by major decision at 184 and a forfeit at heavweight. Yony Noy, wrestling at 197, lost a tough 5-3 match to Thomas Ovalle.

About The Opponents
Duquesne enters today's match with a 6-3 record. The Dukes began the season 6-1, losing only to Davidson on Jan. 7. However, Duquesne has lost its last two, falling 33-13 to Eastern Michigan and 31-9 to Pitt. Heavyweight Marc Allemang leads Duquesne with a 28-6 record. Allemang also has a team-high six pins on the year. Jonathan Bittinger, a freshman 125-pounder, has also reached the 20-win mark this season with a 20-11 record.

Last season, Duquesne defeated Maryland 27-16 at the ACC/East Region Challenge in Pittsburgh. Charlie Pinto, who earned a win against the Dukes in last season's matchup, is the only Terp who competed against Duquesne projected to be in today's lineup.

UNC Greensboro enters today's match with a 6-3 mark. The Spartans won a pair of duals in November, and then returned to dual action in January at the Buckeye Duals. There, the Spartans lost to Northwestern, but notched impressive victories over Cleveland State and Ohio. UNCG rolled to a pair of easy victories over Davidson and Appalachian State before losint to NC State in its most recent outing on Wednesday.

The Spartans have two nationally-ranked wrestlers in Joe Kemmerer (125) and Daren Burns (197). Burns leads the team with four pins on the year to go with one major decision. Kemmerer has an impressive six technical falls on the year, the most on the Spartan squad.

UNC Greensboro won last year's meeting with the Terps, winning 27-12 in Norfolk, Va. Jason Kiessling is the only Terp from last year's matchup projected to be in today's lineup.

Movin' On Up
With injuries plaguing the Terrapin lineup, several wrestlers have had to move up in weight class to help the team compete in the duals. The Terps, who have abundant depth at 141, are using that depth to fill holes at 149 and even 157 with Andrew Schlaffer and Bryan Rizzo due to the injuries to Jared Villecco and Adam James. Yony Noy and Mike Maceroli, who have each competed at 174 this year, will likely be bumped up to either 184 or 197 for today's dual because of injuries. Noy has competed in three duals this season at 197, while Maceroli's action has been only against 174-pounders.