Nov. 1, 2008

Season Stats

EDINBORO, Pa. - The 17th-ranked University of Maryland wrestling team opened the 2008-09 regular season with a tie, victory and loss Saturday at The Fighting Scot Duals in Edinboro, Pa. The Terrapins tied Army, 19-19, soundly defeated Findlay, 37-12, and lost to No. 15 Edinboro, 23-14.

The Terps started well in the opening dual against the Army Black Knights, notching 10 points in the first three matchups. Brendan Byrne began with a 14-9 decision at 125 pounds and No. 12 Steven Bell earned a major decision against Whitt Dunning, 15-3, to give Maryland a 7-0 advantage after two matches. An Alex Krom decision at 141 pounds made it 10-0 Terps. However, Army got back in the match with a pin by No. 6 Matt Kyler over No. 14 Eric Medina in 22 seconds.

The Black Knights led briefly, 16-13, after a Garrett Hunter decision over freshman Ryan Gray at 184. No. 2 Hudson Taylor quickly erased that, though, picking up what would prove to be a critical six points with a pin of No. 16 Richard Starks in 38 seconds, putting the Terps up by three points heading into the heavyweight tilt, 19-16.

Army earned the tie with a narrow, 6-5 decision for Michael Sprigg over Patrick Gilmore.

Maryland was never threatened against Findlay, taking the first four matches against the Oilers. Byrne and Bell secured 12 quick points with back-to-back pins to begin the meet and Krom tacked on another four with a 13-1 major decision at 141 pounds. A Medina fall in 1:08 at 149 pounds gave the Terps a 22-0 cushion.

The Oilers picked up consecutive wins to get back in the meet, 22-9, but freshman Corey Peltier earned his first-career win, a 10-2 decision against Jeff Havelka to regain control for the Terps. A victory by forfeit at 184 pounds and a technical fall for Taylor at 197 accounted for the rest of Maryland's scoring.

The Terps could not have asked for a much better start against the Fighting Scots in the final meet of the day. Byrne, Bell and Krom all won their matches to begin the meet, including a major decision by Bell against No. 19 Ricky Deubel, 13-3, to give Maryland an 11-0 lead.

Unfortunately for the Terps, the Scots took the next five matchups, three coming via technical fall to take a 20-11 lead. Taylor won a 1-0 decision at 197 to cut Edinboro's lead to six, 20-14, heading into the heavyweight matchup and giving the Terps a chance at a tie with a pin.

However, Gilmore lost his third one-point decision of the day, 1-0, to No. 10 Joe Fendone.

Overall, Maryland went 9-0 in the lowest three weight classes thanks to Byrne, Bell and Krom. Taylor was also perfect for the day.

Maryland's next dual meet is at 1 p.m. next Sunday, November 9 at Lehigh, where the Terps will battle against former head coach Pat Santoro's Mountain Hawks.

No. 17 MARYLAND 19, ARMY 19
125 - Brendan Byrne (MD) dec. Lance Penhale, 14-9 (3-0)
133 - No. 12 Steven Bell (MD) major dec. Whitt Dunning, 13-3 (7-0)
141 - Alex Krom (MD) dec. Casey Thome, 8-2 (10-0)
149 - No. 6 Matt Kyler (ARMY) fall over No. 14 Eric Medina, 4:38 (10-6)
157 - Brian Rowan (ARMY) dec. Kyle John, 2-1 (10-9)
165 - Corey Peltier (MD) dec. Chris Grill, 9-3 (13-9)
174 - Ryan Mergen (ARMY) major dec. Matt MacLean, 16-2 (13-13)
184 - Garrett Hunter (ARMY) dec. Ryan Gray, 9-2 (13-16)
197 - No. 2 Hudson Taylor (MD) fall over No. 16 Richard Starks, 2:22 (19-16)
HWT - Michael Sprigg (ARMY) dec. Patrick Gilmore, 6-5 (19-19)

No. 17 MARYLAND 37, FINDLAY 12
125 - Brendan Byrne (MD) fall over Nick Weisjhan, 3:44 (6-0)
133 - No. 12 Steven Bell (MD) fall over Alex Shumaker, 4:04 (12-0)
141 - Alex Krom (MD) major dec. Josh Falk, 11-1 (16-0)
149 - No. 14 Eric Medina (MD) fall over Sean Dong, 1:08 (22-0)
157 - Michael Lybarger (FU) fall over Matt MacLean, 2:55 (22-6)
165 - Justin Shannon (FU) dec. Kyle John, 8-3 (22-9)
174 - Corey Peltier (MD) dec. Jeff Havelka, 10-2 (25-9)
184 - Chris Lloyd (MD) wins by forfeit (31-9)
197 - No. 2 Hudson Taylor (MD) tech. fall Dan Stevenson, 17-1/5:30 (37-9)
HWT - Dan Thoburn (FU) dec. Patrick Gilmore, 3-2 (37-12)

No. 15 EDINBORO 23, No. 17 MARYLAND, 14
125 - Brendan Byrne (MD) dec. Kyle Fluke, 5-2 (0-3)
133 - No. 12 Steven Bell (MD) major dec. No. 19 Ricky Deubel, 13-3 (0-7)
141 - Alex Krom (MD) major dec. Joel Webster, 13-5 (0-11)
149 - Torsten Gillespie (EU) dec. No. 14 Eric Medina, 6-5 (3-11)
157 - No. 4 Gregor Gillespie (EU) tech. fall Kyle John, 16-0/4:40 (8-11)
165 - No. 8 Jarrod King (EU) dec. Corey Peltier, 7-5 SV (11-11)
174 - No. 17 Phil Moricone (EU) tech. fall Matt MacLean, 26-10/5:22 (15-11)
184 - No. 16 Chris Honeycutt (EU) tech. fall Ryan Gray, 17-0/3:50 (20-11)
197 - No. 2 Hudson Taylor (MD) dec. Pat Bradshaw, 1-0 (20-14)
HWT - No. 10 Joe Fendone (EU) dec. Patrick Gilmore, 1-0 (23-14)

-TERPS-