Nov. 6, 2010
Photo Gallery
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland wrestling team opened the 2010-11 season, by winning three of four duals at the Terrapin Duals Saturday at the Comcast Pavilion.
The Terrapins (3-1) opened the regular season against nearby Johns Hopkins (0-3) with a dominating performance which featured four pins and a technical fall shutout executed by No. 5 Josh Asper at 165 pounds.
"Overall it was a great day," said head coach Kerry McCoy. "We won three matches and the fourth match was winnable...Our guys have to be ready for the grind and this is the best way to start."
Maryland then faced stiffer competition against West Virginia (2-1), which had topped Liberty, 24-12 in the prior match. Down 6-9 to the Mountaineers, Maryland put 14 quick team points on the board thanks to a pin by Kyle John at 157 pounds and back-to-back major decisions by Asper and Letts, who wrestled for the first time in nine months, since suffering a season-ending injury in the spring.
"The funny thing with Mike is he hasn't wrestled competitively since Jan. 12," said McCoy. "We just forget that because he has been so successful and has done so much. He looked great and he didn't look like he was rusty at all."
The 613 in attendance then witnessed arguably the most exciting match of the day with Christian Boley and Kyle Rooney at 197 pounds. Down late in the third period, Boley used two take-downs to top Rooney and clinch the team win, Maryland's second straight, over West Virginia.
Heavyweight Spencer Myers capped off the dual against the Mountaineers with a 10-0 major decision shutout, making the final score 27-13.
Against the Liberty Flames (3-1), the Terps were tested early and often. Maryland's Pat Strizki opened the game with a 4-1 decision over Jonathan Childress, but the Flames came back to win the next three decisions to put them up 9-3.
Maryland regained the lead with a decision by John, pin by Asper and technical fall by Letts, but Liberty once again fought back to reclaim the lead with decisions by Aaron Kelley and Aaron Thompson over Alex Pagnotta, who had moved up a weight class to replace the injured Corey Peltier. In the heavyweight bout, Liberty's Josh Pelletier claimed the injury default victory over Spencer Myer in the first period to give the Flames the team win.
In the Terrapins' final dual of the day, Maryland handled McDaniel (0-2), 40-3. With four major decisions, two pins and a suffocating 15-0 technical fall performance by Kyle John, the Terps out-muscled the Green Terror, winning all but one match.
"We're going to go over and watch everything that happened today," said Letts, who recorded two pins, a technical fall and major decision today. "You can either improve on it or you can't. And I think all these guys are willing to work just as hard to get that much better. We see what we need to do and now we need to take those steps."
Maryland will travel to the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic and East Stroudsburg Open on Nov. 13.
Maryland 41, Johns Hopkins 3
125- Shane Gentry (MD) fall over Adam Stevens, 2:00 (6-0)
133- Joey Boone (MD) fall over Paul Marcello, 0:52 (12-0)
141- Jon Kohler (MD) dec. Henry Stauber, 3-1 (15-0)
149- Rocky Barilla (JHU) dec. Justin Cash, 4-3 (15-3)
157- Kyle John (MD) dec. Matt Fusaro, 9-5 (18-3)
165- Josh Asper (MD) tech. fall over Eric Levenseller, 16-0 [1:48] (23-3)
174- Mike Letts (MD) fall over Patrick Stanley, 5:46 (29-3)
184- Corey Peltier (MD) fall over Ben Finelli, 5:44 (35-3)
197- Christian Boley (MD) dec. Reid Mosquera, 5-2 (38-3)
HWT- Spencer Myers (MD dec. Rick Danilkowicz, 10-3 (41-3)
Maryland 27, West Virginia 13
125- Shane Gentry (MD) dec. Shane Young, 5-3 (3-0)
133- Nathan Pennessi (WVU) dec. Joey Boone, 5-4 (3-3)
141- Jon Kohler (MD) dec. Mike Morales, 5-3 (6-3)
149- Brandon Rader (WVU) fall over Justin Cash, 1:11 (6-9)
157- Kyle John (MD) fall over Ryan Goodman, 4:06 (12-9)
165- Josh Asper (MD) major dec. Donnie Jones, 15-5 (16-9)
174- Mike Letts (MD) major dec. Matt Weston, 16-4 (20-9)
184- Matt Ryan (WVU) major dec. Corey Peltier, 11-2 (20-13)
197- Christian Boley (MD) dec. Kyle Rooney, 12-10 (23-13)
HWT- Spencer Myers (MD) major dec. Phillip Mandzik, 10-0 (27-13)
Liberty 21, Maryland 18
125- Pat Strizki (MD) dec. Jonathan Childress, 4-1 (3-0)
133- Joe Pantaleo (LIB) dec. Joey Boone, 7-5 SV (3-3)
141- Seth Hicks (LIB) dec. Jon Kohler, 14-7 (3-6)
149- Scott Clymer (LIB) dec. Justin Cash, 6-2 (3-9)
157- Kyle John (MD) dec. Julian Colon, 11-4 (6-9)
165- Josh Asper (MD) fall over Eli Sanchez, 2:32 (12-9)
174- Mike Letts (MD) tech. fall over Royal Brettager II, 16-1 [2:33] (18-9)
184- Aaron Kelley (LIB) dec. Alex Pagnotta, 7-3 (18-12)
197- Aaron Thompson (LIB) dec. Christian Boley, 6-2 (18-15)
HWT- Josh Pelletier (LIB) inj. default Spencer Myers (18-21)
Maryland 40, McDaniel 3
125- Pat Strizki (MD) major dec. Earl Eppard, 10-2 (4-0)
133- Lou Ruland (MD) major dec. Tom Goretsas, 12-4 (8-0)
141- Danny O'Malley (MD) dec. Mike Tancreddi, 5-2 (11-0)
149- Dex Lederer (MD) major dec. Sean McGarry, 14-3 (15-0)
157- Kyle John (MD) tech. fall over Torin Lehman, 15-0, 2:00 (21-0)
165- Jimmy Sheptock (MD) fall over Matt Peters, 1:48 (27-0)
174- Mike Letts (MD) fall over Brad Thomas, 1:23 (33-0)
184- Owen Smith (MD) dec. Scott Forrester, 11-4 (36-0)
197- Christian Boley (MD) major dec. Will Yeo, 20-6 (40-0)
HWT- Brock Glotfelty (MCD) dec. Ryan Gray, 6-1 (40-3)
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