Dec. 3, 2010
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Head coach Kerry McCoy will return to his alma mater Sunday when the University of Maryland wrestling team travels to University Park, Pa.,for the Nittany Lion Open, hosted by No. 5 Penn State.
With over 400 participants expected to take the mat, the Nittany Lion Open presents an opportunity for McCoy and the Terps (5-2) to use nearly all of their wrestlers.
"I am looking forward to the event," said McCoy, who was a three-time All American at Penn State and graduated in 1997 with a degree in marketing. "It is the only time where our entire team will get to compete in the same event. There are going to be a lot of tough individuals in the tournament so we will have a chance to see how we measure up. It is going to be fun."
Thirty of Maryland's wrestlers are expected to compete this weekend, including Maryland's trio of ranked wrestlers No. 3 Josh Asper (165 pounds), No. 8 Mike Letts (174) and No. 18 Kyle John (157). At the Northeast Duals on Nov. 27, Asper, Letts and John finished a combined 9-0 and outscored their opponents 60-17.
Also expected to wrestle for Maryland will be: Christian Boley, Joey Boone, Dallas Brown, Domenic DeRobertis, Ben Dorsay, Owen Duffy, Shane Gentry, Ryan Gray, Spencer Myers, Bradley Nielson, Danny O'Malley, Danny Orem, Alex Pagnotta, Corey Peltier, Lou Ruland, Jimmy Sheptock, Tommy Sitar, Owen Smith, Ty Snook and Pat Strizki.
Frank Goodwin, Mason Goretsas, Mark Hartenstine, Shawn Mazzarone, Brad Molina, Jenkins Monzey and Aaron Norris will also wrestle at Penn State, but will be unattached.
The Terps are currently ranked No. 25 in the Intermat top-25 poll. Maryland finished 2-1 at the Northeast Duals last weekend, defeating Penn and Northern Iowa before falling to No. 17 Missouri.
At last year's Nittany Lion Open, 22 Terps competed, with then-senior Hudson Taylor winning the individual title at 197 pounds and Jimmy Sheptock (165) and Pat Strizki (125) placing fifth and eighth at their respective weight classes.
After the Nittany Lion Open, Maryland will resume action on Dec. 11 at No. 23 Hofstra.
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