Dec. 1, 2011

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The 13th-ranked Maryland wrestling team returns home following an undefeated weekend to take on 24th-ranked American Friday at 7 p.m. at Comcast Pavilion.

Despite dropping three matches at the Northeast Duals last weekend, the Eagles feature four top-10 wrestlers in InterMat's latest rankings and pose a stiff challenge according to head coach Kerry McCoy.

"It's one of the biggest local rivalries we have," said McCoy. "They finished top-5 in the country last year and have [four] guys in the top-10. There will be some good individual matches. Because of all of the things associated with it -- being a home match, being a local rivalry, having the success that they've had the last few years -- it is definitely one of our bigger matches."

The Terps have won the last five meetings against the Eagles including a 19-17 victory in Washington, D.C., last season.

Fans can watch the Terps-Eagles meet on TerpsTV Premium, a subscription-based service that features premium audio and video content. The service is available for an annual price of $79.95 or a monthly fee of $9.95.

The Terps defeated No. 19 Central Michigan, Bucknell and Northern Iowa at the Northeast Duals last weekend to improve their record to 6-0. It is the first time the Terrapins have gone undefeated in five appearances at the event.

Second-ranked junior Josh Asper and 20th-ranked redshirt sophomore Christian Boley remained undefeated at 10-0 and 9-0, respectively. Sixteenth-ranked senior Kyle John earned ACC Wrestler of the Week honors after going 3-0 with two major decisions, one over then-No. 19 David Bonin of Northern Iowa, and a technical fall.

Projected Lineup
125: Shane Gentry (7-2)
133: Geoffrey Alexander (9-2)
141: Lou Mascola (5-3) or Frank Goodwin (2-0)
149: Ben Dorsay (8-3)
157: No. 16 Kyle John (7-2)
165: No. 2 Josh Asper (10-0)
174: No. 17 Jimmy Sheptock (6-1) or Corey Peltier (2-0)
184: Ty Snook (5-4)
197: No. 20 Christian Boley (9-0)
285: No. 10 Spencer Myers (7-2)

American

The Eagles lost three close matches to No. 19 Central Michigan, No. 22 Penn and Purdue at the Northeast Duals, but American was without the services of eighth-ranked Daniel Mitchell at 197 pounds who has yet to wrestle this season.

American has four wrestlers ranked in the top-10 by InterMat led by top-ranked Ryan Flores at 285. Flores picked up three falls at the Northeast Duals including a pin of ninth-ranked Peter Sturgeon of Central Michigan.

At 157, fourth-ranked Ganbayar Sanjaa opened his season with three victories at the Northeast Duals. Sanjaa pinned Penn's Troy Hernandez followed by a decision over 19th-ranked Donnie Corby of Central Michigan and major decision over Purdue's Pat Robinson.

At 141, ninth-ranked Matt Mariacher is 9-2. Mariacher was the runner-up to eighth-ranked Kendric Maple of Oklahoma at the Brockport/Oklahoma Classic and one week later won the title at the Keystone Classic. At the Northeast Duals, Mariacher dropped a 5-1 decision to fourth-ranked Zack Kemmerer of Penn, but closed the event with a major decision over Central Michigan's Malcolm Martin and earned a technical fall over Purdue's Frankie Porras.

Projected Lineup
125: Thomas Williams (9-5) or Chris Brienza (0-7)
133: Corey Borshoff (0-2) or Chris Brienza (0-7)
141: No. 9 Matt Mariacher (9-2) or Uditinder Thakur (1-4)
149: Kevin Tao (7-5) or Tanner Shaffer (0-4)
157 : No. 4 Ganbayar Sanjaa (3-0)
165: Sean McCarthy (1-4) or Mark Cirello (1-5)
174: Philip Barreiro (4-5)
184: Thomas Barreiro (6-7)
197: No. 8 Daniel Mitchell (0-0)
285: No. 1 Ryan Flores (3-0) or Blake Herrin (5-3)