Feb. 4, 2010

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland wrestling team's match with Virginia Tech has been postponed to Sunday at noon due to the high likelihood of severe winter weather in the College Park area.

Due to the men's basketball game at 2 p.m., wrestling parking will be limited to Regents Drive Garage for $10, or Lot 1, which is free. Shuttle service from Lot 1 will not be available.

The match between No. 10 Maryland and No. 19 Virginia Tech will be crucial in determining seeding for the conference tournament. Both teams are undefeated in conference play - Maryland at 3-0 and Virginia Tech at 2-0 - and most of Maryland's wrestlers are 3-0 or 2-1 in conference action. A win against Virginia Tech could go a long way in setting up Maryland for success in the ACC Tournament.

"It'll be a battle. They're a good team and it's going to be a close match," said head coach Kerry McCoy. "For most of our guys, the No.1 or No. 2 seed (for the ACC Tournament) is on the line."

The Hokies have five wrestlers ranked in Intermat's top 20 this week: No. 14 Jarod Garnett (19-5; 125 pounds), No. 10 Chris Diaz (24-3; 141 pounds), No. 5 Jesse Dong (23-2;157 pounds), No. 20 Matt Epperly (16-6; 165 pounds), and No. 19 Tommy Spellman (21-8; 184 pounds).

Virginia Tech won four straight matches - over North Carolina, Gardner-Webb, UNC-Greensboro and No. 16 Virginia - before dropping a 21-17 decision to No. 12 Central Michigan on Jan. 29. The Hokies have a tough weekend, with a match against No. 7 Lehigh Friday night before coming to College Park to face the No. 10 Terps. They enter the weekend 3-3 against ranked competition, with wins over No. 22 Edinboro and two wins over Virginia; and losses to No. 11 Penn State, No. 17 Kent State and No. 12 Central Michigan.

The Terps are 16-4, having won seven of their last eight matches. Maryland is 4-3 against ranked opponents, most recently defeating then-No. 14 Kent State on Jan. 17. Against ACC competition, the Terps have been particularly dominant, winning 24 of 30 matches so far this year.

Maryland has five wrestlers ranked in the top15 of every major poll. Steven Bell is ranked as high as No. 4 (Amateur Wrestling News); Alex Krom is ranked as high as third (Amateur Wrestling News); Josh Asper is No. 14 (Intermat; Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine; Wrestlingreport.com); Mike Letts is ranked as high as fourth (Amateur Wrestling News); and Hudson Taylor is ranked No. 3 by all but one publication.

Match/Parking Info: Due to the winter weather moving into the area, the match has been moved from 7 p.m. Saturday night to Noon Sunday. Wrestling parking will be limited to Regents Drive Garage for $10, or Lot 1, which is free. Shuttle service from Lot 1 will not be available.

Probable matchups - No. 10 Maryland vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech (Maryland listed first)
125 - Pat Strizki (11-7) vs. No. 14 Jarrod Garnett (19-5)
133 - No. 12 Steven Bell (20-5) vs. Brock LiVorio (7-3)
141 - No. 9 Alex Krom (14-5) vs. No. 10 Chris Diaz (24-3)
149 - Jon Kohler (13-15) vs. Brian Stephens (7-3)
157 - Kyle John (26-8) vs. No. 5 Jesse Dong (23-2)
165 - No. 14 Josh Asper (27-6) vs. No. 20 Matt Epperly (16-6)
174 - Owen Smith (10-13) vs. Taylor Knapp (10-11)
184 - Corey Peltier (18-11) vs. No. 19 Tommy Spellman (21-8)
197 - No. 3 Hudson Taylor (33-2) vs. Chris Penny (1-12)
HWT - Patrick Gilmore (20-9) vs. Tim Miller (3-14)