Jan. 23, 2011
Photo Gallery 
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Senior Jon Kohler upset No. 13 Chris Diaz at 141 pounds and the University of Maryland wrestling team won half its matches against No. 16 Virginia Tech, but the Terps ultimately fell just short, losing to the Hokies 18-17 on Sunday in the Comcast Pavilion.
The Terapins (10-4, 0-1 ACC) trailed by 11 after No. 8 Jesse Dong defeated No. 13 Kyle John at 157 pounds, but Maryland mounted an impressive comeback, winning the next four matches to take a two-point lead before Virginia Tech's David Marone pulled off a narrow 5-3 victory over true freshman Spencer Meyers at heavyweight.
"We [split our matches] with a top-5 team that finished runner-up at the National Duals," said head coach Kerry McCoy. "[Splitting] 5-5 is not bad. It's disappointing to lose a conference dual, though...Overall there were a lot of good things which we can build our momentum with. We just have to get better."
No. 5 Josh Asper started ignited the Maryland rally with a 9-1 win over No. 15 Pete Yates. Leading by six with a riding-time advantage, Asper earned a one-point near fall late in the period to earn the major decision.
At 174 pounds, No. 17 Mike Letts trailed Matt Epperly by one heading into the third period. The senior narrowly avoided a takedown and flipped Epperly to earn the takedown and, soon after, a three-point near fall to earn the 6-3 decision.
Coming off of a dramatic 4-3 upset of No. 8 Luke Rebertus at 184 pounds on Saturday, Corey Peltier topped John Dickson, 8-1, to cut the Hokie lead to just one point heading into the 197-pound bout.
Trailing by one, Christian Boley and the Terps had an opportunity to take the lead against Virginia Tech's Chris Penny. In what was a tight match from the opening minutes, Boley and Penny exchanged points throughout the first two periods with Penny holding a 7-6 lead heading into the third.
Down late in the final period, Boley escaped Penny's grasp and flipped forward to execute the takedown and the three-point turn with just 15 seconds remaining to take the 10-9 victory and give the Terps a 17-15 advantage.
"Christian Boley had a great match," said McCoy. "He was able to fight hard and get the win at the end."
Unfortunately, Maryland lost its fight and the dual in its final match when Marone topped Myers handing the Terps their first team loss since Dec. 11 at Hofstra.
Maryland resumes conference action Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Comcast Pavilion against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
No. 16 Virginia Tech 18, Maryland 17
125- No. 13 Jarrod Garnett (VT) dec. Shane Gentry, 9-6, (0-3)
133- No. 8 Devin Carter (VT) fall over Lou Ruland, 6:26 (0-9)
141- Jon Kohler (MD) major dec. No. 13 Chris Diaz, 12-0 (4-9)
149- No. 8 Brian Stephens (VT) dec. Ben Dorsay, 13-11 (4-12)
157- No. 8 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. No. 13 Kyle John, 7-1 (4-15)
165- No. 5 Josh Asper (MD) major dec. No. 15 Pete Yates, 9-1 (8-15)
174- No. 17 Mike Letts (MD) dec. Matt Epperly, 6-3 (11-15)
184- Corey Peltier (MD) dec. John Dickson, 8-1 (14-15)
197- Christian Boley (MD) dec. Chris Penny, 10-9 (17-15)
HWT- David Marone (VT) dec. Spencer Myers, 5-3 (17-18)
-ES-
