AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The three Maryland wrestlers representing the Terrapins at the 2007 Division I Wrestling Championships all suffered a loss on the first day of action. Senior Jason Kiessling (165) and redshirt freshman Hudson Taylor (197) both won their second round matches before losing in the third round while freshman Mike Letts (174) lost in the first round but won two matches in the wrestleback.

Action continues tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan.

Kiessling, ranked No. 12 in the country at 165 pounds, defeated 12th-seeded Johnny Galloway of Northern Illinois, 4-3, in his first match of the day. Galloway was able to get in on a leg attack in the first period to take the early 2-0 lead but Kiessling was able to escape before the end of the period to make it 2-1. Kiessling chose down in the second period and earned an escape to tie the match. Kiessling then executed a fireman's carry to take the 4-2 lead heading into the third.

Galloway chose down in the final period and earned a quick escape to make it 4-3, but Kiessling held him off the rest of the way to take the 4-3 win.

He advanced to face Nick Baima of Northern Iowa in the round of 16. Baima is the fifth seed and is ranked No. 5 in the nation and proved to be too much as he came away with a 7-1 win. Kiessling will take on UC Davis' Dustin Noack in the wrestleback tomorrow.

Taylor, No. 15 in the nation at 197, squared off against Cal Poly's No. 17 Matt Monteiro in his first match and earned a fall in the second period. The two wrestlers were tied 4-4 at the end of an action-packed first period that saw a takedown and three reversals.

Taylor chose down at the beginning of the second and scored another reversal before Monteiro was forced to take an injury timeout. After the break, Monteiro got a reversal and locked into a cradle and tried to roll through, but Taylor caught him and got the fall at the 3:57 mark of the match.

Taylor faced third-seeded Mike Tamillow of Northwestern who is ranked No. 5 in the country in the next round and lost 10-4. He will face Purdue's Nathan Moore in the wrestleback to open tomorrow's action.

Letts, ranked No. 11 in the nation and the 12th-seed at 174 pounds, lost by decision in the first round to Ken Robertson of Eastern Illinois, 8-5. Letts scored a quick takedown after the opening whistle which Robertson escaped from. Robertson then responded with a takedown of his own to take the 3-2 lead, but Letts was able to escape before the end of the period to deadlock the match 3-3.

Robertson chose down for the second period and escaped Letts' grasp to earn a point. Letts then notched another takedown to take a 5-4 lead, but Robertson responded with a reversal to take a 6-5 lead that he would never let up.

Letts chose neutral at the start of the third period and Robertson scored the only points of the final stanza to take the 8-5 win.

In the wrestleback first round, Letts took care of Drexel's Nick Kozar, 5-1, to stay alive in the tournament. He advanced to take on Indiana's Trevor Perry and pinned him in 1:41.

Letts will face Gabriel Dretsch of Minnesota in the third round of the wrestleback tomorrow morning.