COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland wrestling team opened Saturday with a 26-12 win against North Carolina in the ACC opener for both schools at Comcast Pavilion. Senior Jason Kiessling came up with the biggest win of the match for the Terrapins as he knocked off No. 12 Keegan Mueller, 2-1, at 165 pounds. Maryland will take on No. 16 Illinois at 4:00 p.m. later today in Comcast Pavilion.

The Tar Heels started out the day with two decisions at 125 and 133 to take a 6-0 lead. Jon Kohler earned an important escape in the closing seconds of his match at 133 to keep the Heels from gaining four points.

Sophomore Alex Krom got things going the Terps way in his match at 141 as he shutout Mike Rappo, 8-0, to cut the deficit to 6-4. In the first period, Krom took down Rappo 50 seconds in and then rode him the rest of the way. In the second period, Krom started down and escaped in 20 seconds. With two seconds left on the clock, Krom earned another takedown to go up 5-0. Midway through the third period, Krom notched another takedown to take a 7-0 lead and his advantage in riding time gave him the major decision.

Junior Andrew Schlaffer gave the Terps a 7-6 lead with a 10-3 decision at 149 against Vincent Ramirez. After a scoreless first period, Ramirez started down in the second and escaped to get on the board. Twenty seconds later, Schlaffer recorded a takedown and nearly earned a fall to take a 5-1 lead. Schlaffer did not let up in the third as he earned two more takedowns en route to his win.

After a UNC decision at 157, Keissling came up with a huge win at 165 by beating No. 12 Keegan Mueller, 2-1, to give Maryland the lead back. The two did not get on the scoreboard in the first period and Mueller started down in the second and earned an escape with 1:24 left. While at neutral, Kiessling used a burst of quickness with nine seconds left to record a takedown and steal the lead. That is all Kiessling would need as he held off Ramirez in the third to put Maryland up, 10-9.

The Tar Heels had to forfeit at 174 and freshman Mike Letts added to the lead by earning a major decision at 184, 12-2. Letts recorded four takedowns and a near fall in the match for the victory. Hudson Taylor pushed the lead to 26-9 when his opponent, David Dashiell, had to forfeit the match midway through due to an injury.

Results:

125 - Drew Forshey (UNC) dec. James Knox, 9-4 (0-3)
133 - No. 8 Evan Sola (UNC) dec. Jon Kohler, 7-2 (0-6)
141 - No. 13 Alex Krom (MD) major dec. Mike Rappo, 8-0 (4-6)
149 - Andrew Schlaffer (MD) dec. Vincent Ramirez, 10-3 (7-6)
157 - Ben Fiacco (UNC) dec. Mike McGill, 3-2 (7-9)
165 - No. 20 Jason Kiessling (MD) dec. No. 12 Keegan Mueller, 2-1 (10-9)
174 - Clint Stout wins by forfeit (16-9)
184 - Mike Letts (MD) major dec. Robert McCarthy, 12-2 (20-9)
197 - No. 16 Hudson Taylor wins by forfeit/injury (26-9)
HWT - No. 9 Spencer Nadolsky (UNC) dec. Jerry Afari, 5-1 (26-12)