Feb. 22, 2009

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Looking to close out the regular season on a high note, the Maryland wrestling team scored four major decisions, including one in each of the last three individual matches, to take a 25-15 decision over Virginia. Tenth-ranked Hudson Taylor, Patrick Gilmore and Brendan Byrne each took major decisions in the final three matches to win.

"I told these guys that every match we were going to see a trickle towards where we were going to be at the end of the year," head coach Kerry McCoy said. "Right now, at the end of the dual meet season, it's nice to be above .500...but in two weeks it's going to be all about ACCs and two weeks after that it's going to be all about NCAAs. But we all were aware of it to make sure that we finished on the positive side overall."

Eleventh-ranked Steven Bell won his match at 133 pounds by forfeit, and No. 9 Alex Krom took an 11-2 major decision to give Maryland an early 10-0 lead. After senior Steve Fehnel, who was honored in Senior Day ceremonies before the dual, lost his match, Kyle John took on Jedd Moore in the 157 pound contest.

John and Moore fought the match of the day, with both grapplers fighting for every advantage. As the crowd got more and more into the tightly-contested battle, John gained an upper hand late in the contest and looked close to earning a two-point takedown which would have given him a lead.

Unfortunately, time ran out just before the referee awarded the points. The din of the crowd drowned out the buzzer, causing some question as to whether the points would be allowed, but after a short conference at the timing table, it was determined that time had expired. John fell, 6-5.

Brian Letters helped Maryland bounce back when he won his match at 165 pounds, 5-3. Maryland lost its lead, though, when Virginia earned a decision at 174 pounds and a fall at 184.

Entering the stretch run, tenth-ranked Hudson Taylor put Maryland back on top with his dominating 12-0 performance at 197 pounds. Taylor, who faced ranked opponents both against Virginia and against George Mason on Saturday, did not allow a point to either opponent on the weekend.

When Patrick Gilmore pulled away to an 8-0 victory in the heavyweight spot, Maryland had all-but sealed the victory. Brendan Byrne made it official when he rolled to a 14-1 victory at 125 pounds.

Maryland will now have two weeks off before returning to the mats at the ACC Tournament.

MARYLAND 25, VIRGINIA 15
133 - No. 11 Steven Bell (MD) wins by forfeit (6-0)
141 - No. 9 Alex Krom (MD) major dec. No. 16 Nick Nelson, 11-2 (10-0)
149 - Pete Ferrara (UVA) dec. Steve Fehnel, 8-4 (10-3)
157 - Jedd Moore (UVA) dec. Kyle John, 6-5 (10-6)
165 - Brian Letters (MD) dec. Mike Sewell, 5-3 (13-6)
174 - No. 7 Chris Henrich (UVA) dec. Corey Peltier, 3-0 (13-9)
184 - Rocco Caponi (UVA) fall Chris Lloyd, 1:01 (15-13)
197 - No.10 Hudson Taylor (MD) major dec. No. 19 Brent Jones, 12-0 (17-15)
HWT - Patrick Gilmore (MD) major dec. Calvin Cardillo, 8-0 (21-15)
125 - Brendan Byrne (MD) major dec. Wyatt Anderson, 14-1 (25-15)

-TERPS-