COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland wrestling team will venture back to the non-conference for two duals this Sunday at the Grapple at the Garden in New York City. The Terps will take on Hofstra (10 a.m.) and former ACC rival Duke (12 p.m.) at The World's Famous Arena.
“It's a great event," head coach Kerry McCoy said. "We love to be apart of it. We're looking forward to some good matches. Hofstra and Duke are both good teams that we've competed against in the past. It's always good to compete against that level of competition."
Leading it off
• Maryland will compete in Madison Square Garden for the third straight season as it takes on Hofstra and Duke at the Grapple at the Garden Sunday.
• No. 11 Shyheim Brown recorded the Terps lone win in a loss to No. 4 Penn State. The sophomore defeated Michael Waters, 1-0, to improve his record to 10-1 this season.
• No. 7 Geoffrey Alexander has also been a consistent performer with a 5-1 dual mark at 133 pounds. Alexander is third on the team with 21 dual points.
• Against Pittsburgh, Lou Mascola picked up his second dual win of the season, and his first on the road, when he defeated Ronnie Garbinsky at 157 pounds.
Scouting the Opposition
• Duke enters Sunday's contest with just two duals under its belt; a 45-3 loss to Nebraska and a 19-18 victory over Shorter.
• 197-pound Conner Hartmann is the Blue Devil's highest ranked grappler, checking in at No. 4. Hartmann became Duke's second All-American in program history last season.
• Hofstra is 2-4 this season with wins over Lock Haven and Sacred Heart. The Pride's four losses have come to ranked opposition (Lehigh, Rutgers, Missouri, N.C. State).
• 141-pound Jamel Hudson is the Pride's most nationally relavant grappler as a consenus t-20 competitor. Cody Ruggirello, ranked No. 17 at 149 by TOM, gives the Pride a solid one-two punch near the middle of the lineup.
Terps ready for the b1gest Show in wrestling
• "That's kind of every wrestler's dream to wrestle in the Big Ten." - Geoffrey Alexander to umterps.com contributer Michael Errigo, who outlined the Terps' exciting move to the Big Ten in his latest piece.
BROWN DELIVERS
• Sophomore Shyheim Brown has risen to 11th in TheOpenMat.com's individual rankings. Brown is t-1 on the team in dual points scored (23) and t-4 in wins (10).
• Brown had a breakout campaign last season at 141 pounds. The Pennsylvania native qualified for the NCAA Tournament and rose to as high as No. 8 in the nation.
myers matters
• Spencer Myers, currently playing for the Maryland football team, will be an anchor in the Terps' lineup. An All-American, Myers has qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of his varsity seasons. He went 24-6 last year and is a two-time ACC Champion.
• Sean Twigg and Ryan Kail will combine to handle the heavyweight load until Myers finishes his football commitments
hall of fame status
• Head Coach Kerry McCoy was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2014 in July in Stillwater, Okla.
• A two-time national champion at Penn State, McCoy was also inducted into the NACDA/John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation Hall of Fame alongside University of Maryland Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson.
• McCoy was honored before the Terps' dual with Penn State on Dec. 11.
New Starters
• Multiple grapplers made their dual-match debut at the Terrapin Duals. Jhared Simmons (125), Daniel Sanchez (141), Justin Alexander (157), Arashdeep Gill (174/184). Rob Fitzgerald (197), Ryan Kail (285) and Sean Twigg (285) all saw action, going a combined 14-4. Fitzgerald has started every match for the Terps this season.
• Six (Simmons, Sanchez, Alexander, Gill, Kail and Twigg) are redshirt freshman.
OPENING STATEMENT
• Freshman Alfred Bannister leads the Terps in wins (15) after his standout performances at a number of open competitions this season. The 141-pounder captured the Wolfpack Open title and finished third at the Bearcat Open and fourth at the Clarion Open.
• Five Terps placed at the Nittany Lion Open, led by Tyler Goodwin's third place finish at 133 pounds. Adam Whitesell finished eighth behind Goodwin while Derrick Evanovich (157, 4th), Toby Hague (157, 7th) and Garrett Wesneski (197, 8th) also placed.
• Wesneski also won a title at the TCNJ Open. Dawson Peck (285) and Shyheim Brown (141) also took home first-place honors.
Strong Slate
• The Terps have already faced three ranked opponents this season; No. 19 Wisconsin, No. 13 Nebraska, No. 9 Pittsburgh and No. 4 Penn State.
• Nine of Maryland's 2014-15 opponents finished with the Terps in the top-20 of the 2014 NCAA Championships. Pittsburgh (22nd), Duke (29th), Rutgers (34th), Hofstra (t-40th), Navy (t-40th) and Harvard (58th) rounds out the NCAA team placings.
Enter Eiter
• Former Penn head coach Rob Eiter is in his first season as an assistant coach, joining fifth-year assistant Mike Catullo and volunteer assistant Josh Asper on the coaching staff.
• Eiter produced four All-Americans in his six years at the helm. Eiter also served the Quakers as an assistant for three seasons.
• A 1991 graduate of Arizona State, Eiter's glittering interational credentials are highlighted by an eigth-place finish at the 1996 Olympics Games in Atlanta. Eiter also was a standout international coach, guiding the 1999 United State women's team to a first-place finish at the World Championships.
MARYLAND MAT CHAT Episode 3
• Assistant coach Rob Eiter joins veteren wrestling journalist Jason Bryant to discuss his decorated career and the Terps' season so far in this edition of Maryland Mat Chat.
Media Madness
• Head coach Kerry McCoy and select Maryland wrestlers faced the cameras at Maryland wrestling's first ever media day on Oct. 7.
• McCoy's discussed a wide variety of subjects at his press conference. His comments can be viewed below.
-Maryland-
