Maryland
Illinois
Maryland Falls to No. 14 Illinois, 32-3
1/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Senior Ben Dorsay won at 149 pounds but the Maryland wrestling team fell 32-3 to No. 14 Illinois, 32-3, at Huff Hall Friday night.
The Terps (5-12, 0-6 Big Ten) dropped a number of close decisions throughout the night to the Fighting Illini (10-4, 4-3 Big Ten). Four Terrapins lost matches by one point.
Redshirt junior Lou Mascola faced Isaiah Martinez to start the dual. Martinez jumped at Mascola from the start and eventually earned a technical fall in the second period. Jackson Morse nabbed another tech fall for the Fighting Illini, defeating sophomore Tyler Manion 17-2.
The next five matches saw the Terps lose multiple razor thin decisions At 174 pounds, junior Josh Snook came out on the wrong end of a 5-1 score against Zac Brunson. Senior Tony Gardner's last second takedown was not enough as Nikko Reyes defeated the Maryland native, 6-2.
At 197 pounds, senior Rob Fitzgerald was unable to take advantage of a first period takedown in a 4-3 loss to Jeff Koepke. Brooks Black nabbed an escape in the first tiebreaker period to defeat senior Spencer Myers, 2-1.
Junior Josh Polacek hung tough with two-time national champion Jesse Delgado, but dropped a 3-2 decision. At 133 pounds, redshirt junior Geoffrey Alexander was unable to get out of the blocks against Zane Richards in a 14-4 loss.
Sophomore Shyheim Brown nabbed an early takedown against Steven Rodriguez but came up just short, dropping at 3-2 decision. Senior Ben Dorsay salvaged some points for the Terps, taking down Kyle Langenderfer at the buzzer to nab a 3-1 victory.
Maryland returns to action next weekend against No. 2 Minnesota and No. 1 Iowa. The Terps will face the Hawkeyes Friday at 7 p.m., at the XFINITY Center before a showdown with the Golden Gophers on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the XFINITY Center Pavilion.
No. 14 Illinois 32, Maryland 3Match started at 157 pounds
125: Jesse Delgado (ILL) decision over Josh Polacek (MD), 3-2 (25-0)
133: Zane Richards (ILL) major decision over Geoffrey Alexander (MD), 14-4 (29-0)
141: Steven Rodriguez (ILL) decision over Shyheim Brown (MD), 3-2 (32-0)
149: Ben Dorsay (MD) decision over Kyle Langenderfer (ILL), 3-1 (32-3)
157: Isaiah Martinez (ILL) technical fall over Lou Mascola (MD), 20-4 (5-0)
165: Jackson Morse (ILL) technical fall over Tyler Manion (MD), 17-2 (10-0)
174: Zac Brunson (ILL) decision over Josh Snook (MD), 5-1 (13-0)
184: Nikko Reyes (ILL) decision over Tony Gardner (MD), 6-2 (16-0)
197: Jeff Koepke (ILL) decision over Rob Fitzgerald (MD), 4-3 (19-0)
285: Brooks Black (ILL) decision over Spencer Myers (MD), 2-1 TB-1 (22-0)
-Maryland-
