COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Fresh off a three week break between duals, the Maryland wrestling team travels up the road to take on No. 11 Pittsburgh at the Fitzgerald Field House Friday night. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

“It's a great match," head coach Kerry McCoy said. "We have a lot of kids from western Pennsylvania. Pitt is a really good team and it's a good team to have on your schedule. We want to try and continue some of those competitions that we've had throughout the years  

Leading it off

• The Terps (4-3, 0-2 Big Ten) return to dual competition after falling to No. 8 Nebraska and Wisconsin on the road. Junior Josh Snook picked up Maryland first-ever Big Ten victory against the Badgers while seventh-ranked 133-pounder Geoffrey Alexander went 2-0.

• Tony Gardner (184) and Rob Fitzgerald (197) will replace departed standouts Jimmy Sheptock and Christian Boley. Gardner is 1-2 so far this season while Fitzgerald is 5-2, earning bonus points in four of his five wins. 

• Shyheim Brown is a team-best 8-1 this season after capturing the 141-pound title at the TCNJ Open. Brown was an NCAA qualifier last season.

Maryland probables

Scouting the Opposition

• No. 11 Pittsburgh enters Friday's contest after losses to Lehigh and Penn State. The Panthers are 3-2 overall on the season.

• Consensus No. 2 184-pounder Max Thomusseit is a key cog in the Panther machine. Thomusseit already has three wins over top-10 opposition so far this season and has a team-best five bonus-point victories.

• 141-pound Edgar Bright, rated in the top-15 by most polls, will potentially compete in one of the most anticipated bouts of the evening against Shyheim Brown. The two met in an extremely competitive bout last season in College Park which Bright eventually won, 5-3. 

Series history

• The Terrapins faced the Panthers in a home contest last season. The visitors captured the dual, 21-12.

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 picked up where he left off from last season, compiling an 8-1 record so far this season. Brown captured the TCNJ Open title on Thanksgiving weekend. 

• Brown had a breakout 2013-14 campaign at 141 pounds. The Pennsylvania native qualified for the NCAA Tournament and rose to as high as No. 8 in the nation. 

REDSHIRT NO MORE

• After serving a redshirt season last year, Geoffrey Alexander reentered the Terps' lineup and is 4-0 so far this season. 

• A two-time NCAA qualifier, Alexander dominated open competition at 133 pounds last season to the tune of a 25-2 recordand four open tournament titles. He is a consensus top-15 133-pounder entering the season.

• 157-pounder Lou Mascola also redshirted last season and made his debut back in the Maryland lineup against George Mason. Mascola earned a 4-1 decision over Greg Flournoy.

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 will start for the Terrapins at Pittsburgh in Myers' absence.

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.

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. Simmons, Sanchez, Fitzgerald and Twigg all started against George Mason.

• Six (Simmons, Sanchez, Alexander, Gill, Kail and Twigg) are redshirt freshman.

OPENING STATEMENT

• Alfred Bannister continued his strong start in open competition, capturing the title at the Wolfpack Open. Bannister also finished third at the Bearcat Open. 

• In addition to Shyheim Brown's title at the TCNJ Open, Dawson Peck (285) and Garrett Wesneski (197) captured titles in New Jersey. 

• In previous open action, Bannister and Dawson Peck both notched fourth place finishes at the Clarion Open.

Strong Slate

• The Terps will take on 10 teams included in the preseason Intermat Dual Meet Division I Poll. Eight of those are Big Ten squads, with No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Iowa and No. 5 Penn State all visiting College Park for dual matches this season.

• The Terps will travel to No. 7 Nebraska, No. 11 Illinois, No. 14 Wisconsin. No. 15 Pittsburgh and No. 16 Northwestern.

• Nine of Maryland's 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 2

• Head coach Kerry McCoy is joined by veteren wrestling journalist Jason Bryant to discuss the season so far and the Terps' incoming recruiting class in the second episode 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-