March 5, 2011
Final Brackets 
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Fifteenth-ranked senior captain Mike Letts was named 2011 ACC Championship Most Outstanding Wrestler for his 4-2 victory over No. 4 Chris Henrich in the 174-pound title bout and five other Terps won their respective weight classes as Maryland won the conference championship Saturday at the University of Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena.
After finishing the regular season with a 4-1 conference record, the Terps won five title matches to win their third ACC championship in the last four years and conference-best 23rd overall.
Maryland finished with 94.5 points, a dozen ahead of Virginia Tech, which won the regular season with a perfect 5-0 conference record. The host Cavaliers finished third with 69 points. Rounding out the competition was North Carolina (37), North Carolina State (34.5) and Duke (9).
The Terps led all schools with five individual champions. The Hokies had three while the Tar Heels and Wolfpack each had one.
"Every guy came out and wrestled their matches with the team in mind," said head coach Kerry McCoy who now has a pair of conference championships in his three seasons in College Park. "That's what you have to do to be successful at any level, but especially in a six-team tournament. The points were very close and we took advantage of our opportunities."
After the Hokies picked up the first two individual titles at 125 and 133 pounds, No. 16 Jon Kohler earned his second 141-pound title by defeating North Carolina State's Darrius Little 3-1 in sudden victory overtime.
In a rematch of last season's 157-pound title bout, No. 5 Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech defeated No. 15 Kyle John 6-3, though John still earned an NCAA berth thanks to his second-place finish.
Gunning for his first conference title at 165 pounds, No. 4 Josh Asper picked up the 9-3 decision over No. 20 Pete Yates of Virginia Tech.
Letts came into the 174-pound title as the underdog against Henrich, whom had topped Letts 3-2 earlier in the season.
It was Letts, however, who controlled the bout from the beginning, earning the match's first takedown and riding Henrich for much of the first two periods. Leading 4-2 late in the third, Letts held on to win his third conference title at 174 pounds.
"It was a great match," said Letts, who returns as the conference winner after missing last year's tournament due to injury. "It was kind of how I expected it to be, a hard-fought win like a lot of the matches this year. It was important for my team and important for my advancement into the NCAAs. It feels awesome. It shows that our hard work is paying off."
Taking advantage of the top-two seeds being upset in the first round, Corey Peltier advanced to the 184-pound final and earned his first title by topping Duke's Diego Bencomo 3-1.
True freshman Spencer Myers rounded out Maryland's five individual champions as he used a dramatic escape in the second tiebreaker to win 3-2.
Virginia tied Maryland for six automatic NCAA qualifiers followed by Virginia Tech with four. North Carolina and North Carolina State qualified two each and Duke claimed one.
With Shane Gentry (125 pounds), Lou Ruland (133) and Christian Boley (197) all earning third place finishes, Maryland took the lead heading into the finals.
Already with a slight 1.5 point lead, the Terps extended their advantage starting with Gentry at 125 pounds. After topping Jacob Corrill of North Carolina 9-1, Gentry earned a 2:09 pinfall over North Carolina State's Mike Moreno in the consolation finals.
At 133 pounds, Lou Ruland followed with a 14-5 major decision over Conor Hovis of the Wolfpack. In the 133-pound third-place match, the Annapolis, Md., native used a 5-3 victory to clinch the bronze.
Rounding out Maryland's wrestlers competing in the consolation bracket was Christian Boley, who picked up a late pinfall over North Carolina State's KaRonne Jones to advance to the third-place bout. Against top-seed and 17th-ranked Mike Salopek of Virginia, Boley stood his ground and earned the 5-2 win.
"Even our guys that didn't get to the finals helped," said McCoy. "Top to bottom, it was just a great showing...Overall, the total team effort was great and I'm really excited for what these guys did and what they brought to the table. Now we just have to enjoy it for a little bit and get back to work when it is time."
The NCAA will announce wild card berths to the NCAA Championships Wednesday.
ACC Championship Final Team Standings
1. Maryland - 94.5
2. Virginia Tech - 82.5
3. Virginia - 69
4. North Carolina - 37
5. North Carolina State - 34.5
6. Duke - 9
ACC Championship Finals Results
125- No. 13 Jarrod Garnett (VT) dec. Matt Snyder (UVA), 6-4 SV
133- No. 9 Devin Carter (VT) tech. fall over Joe Spisak, 19-4
141- No. 16 Jon Kohler (MD) dec. Darrius Little (NCST), 3-1 SV
149- No. 1 Darrion Caldwell (NCST) dec. Derek Valenti (UVA), 6-3
157- No. 5 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. No. 15 Kyle John (MD), 6-3
165- No. 4 Josh Asper (MD) dec. No. 20 Pete Yates (VT), 9-3
174- No. 15 Mike Letts (MD) dec. No. 4 Chris Henrich (UVA), 4-2
184- Corey Peltier (MD) dec. Diego Bencomo (DUKE), 3-1
197- Zac Bennett (UNC) dec. Chris Penny (VT), 9-4
HWT- Spencer Myers (MD) dec. David Marone (VT), 3-2 TB2
Individual Results
125 - #3 Shane Gentry
First Round- Bye
Semifinals - Lost to #2 Matt Snyder (UVA), 7-3
Consolation Seminfinals - Beat #4 Jacob Corrill (UNC), 9-1
Consolation Finals - Beat #5 Mike Moreno (NCST), F: 2:09
133 - #2 Lou Ruland
First Round - Bye
Seminfinals - Lost to #3 Joe Spisak (UVA), 6-4
Consolation Semifinals - Beat #5 Conor Hovis (NCST), 14-5
Consolation Finals - Beat #4 Pat Owens (UNC), 5-3
141 - #1 Jon Kohler
First Round - Beat #6 Mike Bell (DUKE), F: 2:37
Semifinals - Beat #4 Mike Rappo (UNC), 5-2
Finals - Beat #3 Darrius Little (NCST), 3-1 SV
149 - #6 Justin Cash
First Round - Lost to #4 Nick Stabile (UNC), 7-2
Consolation Semifinals - Lost to #3 Brian Stephens (VT), 11-2
157 - #2 Kyle John
First Round - Beat #5 Shawn Harris (UVA), 6-0
Semifinals - Beat #3 Corey Mock (UNC), 2-0
Finals - Lost to #1 Jesse Dong (VT), 6-3
165 - #1 Josh Asper
First Round- Bye
Semifinals - Beat #4 Jedd Moore (UVA), 12-3
Finals - Beat #2 Pete Yates (VT), 9-3
174 - #2 Mike Letts
First Round- Bye
Semifinals - Beat #3 Thomas Ferguson (UNC), 12-2
Finals - Beat #1 Chris Henrich (UVA), 4-2
184 - #3 Corey Peltier
First Round - Bye
Semifinals - Beat #5 John Dickson (VT), 4-2 SV
Finals - Beat #4 Diego Bencomo (DUKE), 3-1
197 - #3 Christian Boley
First Round - Bye
Semifinals - Lost to #2 Zac Bennett (UNC), 10-4
Consolation Semifinals - Beat #5 KaRonne Jones (NCST), F: 6:51
Consolation Finals - Beat #1 Mike Salopek (UVA), 5-2
HWT - #2 Spencer Myers
First Round - Beat #6 Ben Brooks (UNC), F: 6:07
Semifinals - Beat #3 Jack Danilkowicz (UVA), 3-1
Finals - Beat #1 David Marone (VT), 3-2 TB
-ES-
