Feb. 1, 2013

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Geoffrey Alexander recorded his eighth pin of the season and Shane Gentry knocked off No. 8 Matt Snyder, but the Maryland wrestling team came up just short as No. 11 Virginia defeated the Terps, 21-19, Friday night at Comcast Pavilion.

The Terps (10-7, 1-2 ACC) and Cavaliers split 10 matches, but once again the bonus points went in favor of the visitors. Of the Cavs five wins, three earned the squad bonus points.

The final two matches of the night proved to be the most noteworthy for Terrapin fans. At 125, Gentry squared off in a rematch of the 2012 ACC title bout with Snyder. A match won by Snyder, 3-1. This time around, Gentry came out on top.

Snyder controlled the early action scoring a takedown in the first period and riding Gentry out in the second period to accumulate 2:48 of riding time.

The third period started with the wrestlers at neutral and Gentry looking to tie the match. With eight seconds remaining in the contest, Gentry freed himself as Snyder hung off his back to score the takedown, but needed back points due to Snyder's riding time advantage. The junior gained leverage and turned Snyder for a 2-point near fall as time expired.

“It was a huge win for Shane,” said head coach Kerry McCoy. “We have spent some time working on positioning with him. We are just over 30 days away from the ACC Championships and for him to send that message was big. It will build momentum for him as we head towards the end of the year.”

With the crowd still settling, 16th-ranked Alexander took to the mat against 13th-ranked George DiCamillo at 133 and in an instant took DiCamillo down, and pinned him 31 seconds into the contest. For Alexander, it is the quickest pin of his career and his eighth of the season, which ranks second on the squad.

“Shane got the win and it boosted the energy level,” said McCoy. “Geoff went out there and did what he has been doing. It was a great way to end a dual.”

Despite the late heroics, the Cavaliers came away with the victory. Virginia won the first four matches at 141, 149, 157 and 165. The Cavs led 18-0 heading into a matchup of nationally-ranked wrestlers at 174 between fifth-ranked Josh Asper and 16th-ranked Jon Fausey.

Asper scored takedowns in the second and third periods. The two-time All-American added a point for an escape and for riding time to defeat Fausey, 6-2.

At 184, seventh-ranked Jimmy Sheptock tallied his seventh major decision of the season, which ties him for the team lead, and his team-best 30th win with a 12-4 victory over Stephen Doty. Sheptock tallied five takedowns against Doty and has a team-high 55 takedowns on the year.

Christian Boley cut the Maryland deficit to eight with a decision at 197. Boley, ranked 15th nationally, gave up a late second period takedown to Mike Salopek and trailed 5-4 heading to the third. Boley responded in the final period with an escape and takedown 26 seconds from the end to get the win.

After three consecutive Terrapin victories, the Cavaliers picked up a decision at 285 to increase their lead to 21-13 heading to 125.

No. 11 Virginia 21, Maryland 19

141: Joe Spisak (UVA) fall over Shane Arechiga (MD), 1:27 (6-0)
149: #20 Derek Valenti (UVA) dec. Lou Mascola (MD), 7-0 (9-0)
157: #15 Jedd Moore (UVA) maj. dec. Brady Massaro (MD), 13-2 (13-0)
165: #7 Nick Sulzer (UVA) tech. fall Josh Snook (MD), 21-4 (18-0)
174: #5 Josh Asper (MD) dec. #16 Jon Fausey (UVA), 6-2 (18-3)
184: #7 Jimmy Sheptock (MD) maj. dec. Stephen Doty (UVA), 12-4 (18- 7)
197: #15 Christian Boley (MD) dec. Mike Salopek (UVA), 7-5 (18-10)
285: Derek Papagianopoulos (UVA) dec. Dallas Brown (MD), 5-3 (21-10)
125: Shane Gentry (MD) dec. #8 Matt Snyder (UVA), 4-3 (21-13)
133: #16 Geoffrey Alexander (MD) fall over #13 George DiCamillo (UVA), 0:31 (21-19)