Terps Face Full Weekend at Home
1/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland wrestling team returns to dual competition with three matches this weekend. The Terps will face Harvard in Maryland's inaugural Beauty and the Beast event on Friday at 7 p.m.
A Sunday afternoon doubleheader against Navy (3 p.m.) and No. 11 Lehigh (5 p.m.) will finish off the Terps weekend. All matches will take place on the XFINITY Center main floor.
Leading it off
• Maryland will take on Harvard, Navy and No. 11 Lehigh this weekend.
• The Terps will face Harvard Friday at 7 p.m.in Maryland's first-ever Beauty and the Beast event. The wrestling team will compete simultaneously with the gymnastics team on the XFINITY Center main floor.
• The Navy (3 p.m.) and Lehigh (5 p.m.) matches on Sunday will also take place on the XFINITY Center main floor.
• Maryland notched its second straight top-10 finish at the Midlands Championships, finishing 8th (51.5). The Terps boasted four placers: Josh Snook (4th, 174), Dawson Peck (5th, 285) Lou Mascola (6th, 157) and Shyheim Brown (8th, 141). Peck was wrestling unattached and his score was not added to the team total.
• No. 14 Geoffrey Alexander has been a consistent performer with a 7-1 dual mark at 133 pounds. Alexander is first on the team in dual points (27).
Maryland probables
| Maryland's Probable Starters | |||||||
| Wt. | Wrestler | Yr. | Hometown | W-L | MD | TF | Falls |
| 125 | Josh Polacek | RJr. | Johnstown, Pa. | 5-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| 133 | Geoffrey Alexander | RJr. | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 9-3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| 141 | Shyheim Brown | So. | Harrisburg, Pa. | 15-5 | 0-1 | 4-0 | 2-0 |
| 141 | Frank Goodwin | Sr. | Gambrills, Md. | 7-4 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| 149 | Ben Dorsay | Sr. | Virginia Beach, Va. | 2-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| 157 | Justin Alexander | RFr. | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 7-4 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 1-0 |
| 157 | Lou Mascola | RJr. | East Hanover, N.J. | 8-8 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| 165 | Tyler Manion | Sr. | McDonald, Pa. | 3-7 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-3 |
| 174 | Josh Snook | So. | Bear, Del. | 10-7 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| 184 | Tony Gardner | Sr. | Reisterstown, Md. | 1-6 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| 197 | Rob Fitzgerald | Sr. | Downingtown, Pa. | 8-7 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| 197 | Dylan Devine | RSo. | Severn, Md. | 4-5 | 0-2 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 285 | Sean Twigg | RFr. | Glenelg, Md. | 4-7 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 3-1 |
| 285 | Spencer Myers | Sr. | Selinsgrove, Pa. | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Scouting the Opposition
• Harvard's first dual of the season will come against the Terps this Friday. The Crimson boast two wrestlers ranked in TOM's rankings; No. 15 Todd Preston (141) and No. 8 James Fox (197).
• Maryland last faced Harvard in 2013 with the Terps notching a 22-14 victory. Geoffrey Alexander and Lou Mascola both picked up wins in that contest. Mascola beat Preston 4-3 at 149 pounds.
• Lehigh is currently ranked No. 11 in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. The Mountain Hawks' losses have all come to ranked opponents (Penn State, Rider, Edinboro).
• No. 9 Mason Beckman (133) and Mitch Minotti (157) are two of three returning All-Americans projected to be in Lehigh's starting lineup. No. 18 Randy Cruz (141), No. 7 Nate Brown (184) and No. 15 Elliot Riddick (197) are also expected to appear for the Mountain Hawks.
• Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro was at Maryland in the same position for five seasons (2004-2008). Santoro led the Terps to their first ACC title in 35 years in 2008. While at Lehigh, Santoro has mentored one national champion and led seven individuals to 12 All-American medals.
• The Terps last faced the Mountain Hawks in 2009. Maryland picked up a 22-12 victory.
• Navy has one wrestler ranked in TOM's rankings; No. 12 Peyton Walsh (165). The Midshipman defeated the Terps 26-12 last season.
Terps ready for the b1gGest 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 is 16th in TheOpenMat.com's individual rankings. Brown is t-2 on the team in dual points scored (26).
• 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
• Heavyweight Spencer Myers will be an anchor in the Terps' lineup. An All-American, Myers has qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of his non-redshirt seasons. He went 24-6 last year and is a two-time ACC Champion.
• Myers missed the opening part of the season while competing for the Maryland football team. He played in all 13 games at defensive end and notched 18 tackles.
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 (26) after his standout performances at a number of open competitions this season. He most recently won the F&M Open. 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 faced four ranked opponents this season; No. 19 Wisconsin, No. 12 Nebraska, No. 9 Pittsburgh and No. 3 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 as head coach at Penn. 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 5
• Head coach Kerry McCoy joins veteren wrestling journalist Jason Bryant to discuss the Terps' success at the Midlands and the team's upcoming schedule on 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-
Players Mentioned
