Maryland
ILLINOIS
Wrestling Splits With UNC, No. 16 Illinois
1/13/2007 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 13, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland wrestling team split a pair of duals as it beat North Carolina, 26-12, in the ACC opener for both schools and then lost to No. 16 Illinois, 26-10, on January 13 at Comcast Pavilion. Senior Jason Kiessling, ranked No. 20 in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA poll, defeated a pair of ranked wrestlers on the day. Redshirt freshman Hudson Taylor and freshman Mike Letts also picked up two wins for the Terrapins.
Kiessling started the day by beating No. 12 Keegan Mueller of North Carolina, 2-1, in a tight match. Kiessling recorded a takedown with nine seconds left in the second period and that is all he would need for the win. In his win against No. 14 Roger Smith-Bergsrud, Kiessling handled the first two periods with ease by accumulating a 5-1 advantage. Smith-Bergsrud started down in the third and escaped early and then got a takedown with 54 seconds left to make it 5-4. Kiessling managed to escape shortly and his riding time gave him the 7-4 decision.
In the first match against North Carolina, the Tar Heels started out 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 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 the 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 toure 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. 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 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. Taylor pushed the lead to 26-9 when his opponent, David Dashiell, had to forfeit the match midway through due to an injury.
Against Illinois, the Illini won the first five matches to take a 20-0 lead. Kiessling came up with his second win against a ranked opponent to put the Terps on the board and then Letts followed suit with a 7-3 decision at 174 to make it 20-6. He took down his opponent, Matt Winterhalter, twice in the first period to take a 4-1 lead. Letts would hold him off from there, getting an escape in the second period and another takedown in the third for the win.
Taylor picked up his second win with a 9-1 major decision against Ben Zulauf. Taylor had control the entire match, recording a pair of takedowns in the first to take a 4-1 lead. A reversal in the second and another takedown in the third sealed the win for Taylor.
The Terps, now 11-5 and 1-0 in the ACC, travel to Blacksburg, Va. on January 20 to take on Virginia Tech.
Maryland 26, North Carolina 12:
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)
Illinois 26, Maryland 10:
125 - No. 8 Gabe Flores (IL) major dec. James Knox, 16-8 (0-4)
133 - No. 18 Jimmy Kennedy (IL) major dec. Jon Kohler, 16-4 (0-8)
141 - No. 8 Cassio Pero (IL) dec. No. 13 Alex Krom, 5-2 (0-11)
149 - No. 13 Troy Tirapele (IL) dec. Andrew Schlaffer, 7-2 (0-14)
157 - No. 1 Mike Poeta (IL) pinned Mike McGill, 1:04 (0-20)
165 - No. 20 Jason Kiessling (MD) dec. No. 14 Roger Smith-Bergsrud, 7-4 (3-20)
174 - No. 10 Mike Letts (MD) dec. Matt Winterhalter, 7-3 (6-20)
184 - No. 15 John Dergo (IL) dec. Josh Haines, 3-1 ot (6-23)
197 - No. 16 Hudson Taylor (MD) major dec. Ben Zulauf, 9-1 (10-23)
HWT - John Wise (IL) dec. Jerry Afari, 10-4 (10-26)
Players Mentioned
