umterps Notebook: Giving Thanks
11/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Terrapin Athletics, umterps Spotlight
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Happy Thanksgiving! In this week's edition of the umterps.com Notebook we're going to take a look at some of the things we're thankful for, including a current star who did something no one else has ever done in College Park, a current student who is making her mark on her sport and an alum who is doing amazing things and making a difference in young people's lives.
Running Into History
It has only happened three times in the previous 1,249 games in Maryland's 123-year history of playing football. It happened for just the fourth time this past Saturday at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.
Senior running back Brandon Ross became just the fourth Terrapin to rush for 250 yards or more in a game against Indiana on Nov. 21. Ross joined LaMont Jordan (306 yards vs. Virginia, 1999), Bruce Perry (276 yards vs. Wake Forest, 2001) and Josh Allen (257 yards vs. Virginia, 2003) as the only Terps to accomplish that feat.
But Ross didn't stop there. He did those Terps one better by scoring three touchdowns and that's something no Terrapin player has ever done – rush for 250 yards and score three TDs.
Making the accomplishment even more impressive is that two of Ross' touchdown runs were for 79 and 75 yards, respectively (and the other wasn't too shabby either at 22 yards). That too could be a record, as I couldn't find a record of another Terp with two 75+-yard touchdown runs in the same game.
Following the game, Ross was quick to pass along a lot of the credit.
“I just saw huge holes, that's it,” said Ross. “I have to give a lot of credit to the line of course, they were opening them up all game. And the wideouts as well, I was just following their blocks. This being my last game [at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium], I definitely wanted to go out strong. It felt really good I'm not going to lie to you. It felt good to have that kind of performance. I wish we would have gotten the win but personally it felt good to have that kind of game and really jumpstart the offense.”
Closing A Career
The Maryland volleyball team wraps up its 2015 season this week and that means the terrific career of Adreené Elliott will come to a close.
Unless you're a die-hard Maryland fan that knows everything about every Terrapin team or are a big time volleyball aficionado you might not be familiar with Elliott. But the senior is going to finish her career doing something no other Maryland volleyball player has ever done.
Elliott is the only Terrapin in history to rank in the top 10 all-time in career kills, total attacks, hitting percentage, solo blocks, block assists and total blocks.
She needs just two solo blocks to become the school's all-time leader in that category and already second in career kills with 1,391 (the school mark of 1,585 set by Carey Brennan from 1999-2002 is out of reach).
Elliott is one of five seniors being honored prior to tonight's match vs. Iowa at 7 p.m. at the XFINITY Center Pavilion. Maryland wraps up the 2015 season at Northwestern on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Living Up To The Hype
You may or may not be a fan of professional wrestling (or sports entertainment, as it is call these days in some circles), but if you're reading this you're almost certainly a fan of the Maryland Terrapins.
Well, those two worlds come together in the form of former Maryland football player Dean Muhtadi or as fans of WWE NXT know him – Mojo Rawley.
We will be bringing you more on Muhtadi's transformation into Mojo Rawley in the coming weeks on umterps.com, but on the most recent episode of Breaking Ground, the WWE's reality series on the WWE Network that tells the stories of the men and women fighting to become WWE's next Superstars and, Muhtadi showed a spirit of giving back through a special bond with a fan.
Everyone in the Maryland family can be proud of how Muhtadi is representing Terp Nation (including him still sporting the Terps backpack from his days as a Terp). Check it out:
Quick Hitters
• Congratulations to the Maryland men's soccer team and head coach Sasho Cirovski on their 1-0 victory over Virginia in the second round of the NCAA tournament this past Sunday.
The Terps dominated the run of play and out-shot the Wahoos, 23-8, but it was a free kick going through the box to Eryk Williamson and a finish from close range that proved to be the difference.
Goalkeeper Cody Niedermeier continued his terrific season, stopping the only two shots Virginia put on cage to earn his ninth clean sheet (that's soccer-speak for shutout) of the season.
Maryland now heads to Notre Dame, Ind., for a Sweet 16 match at No. 7-seed Notre Dame. The Terps and the Irish will face off at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 29.
Notre Dame advanced to the Sweet 16 following a 1-1 draw with Tulsa at Alumni Stadium. The Irish converted on three of it's first four PK attempts in the shootout, while ND keeper Chris Hubbard stopped all three Golden Hurricane attempts to advance the Irish in the tournament
Maryland soccer fans will remember the last time the Terps and Irish met in the tournament (or are still trying to forget) – the 2013 NCAA championship game. The Irish took that one, 2-1, but most Terrapin fans will remember that match for the handball that wasn't called.
• The men's and women's basketball teams are both spending the Thanksgiving holiday away from College Park.
The men's team is taking part in the Cancun Challenge. The Terps advanced to the title game with a 77-66 win over Illinois State last night. Maryland faces Rhode Island tonight at 8:30 p.m. Fans can watch that game on the CBS Sports Network.
The women's team is playing in the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Terps play three games in the tournament, beginning on Thursday vs. Old Dominion at 5:45 p.m. A 5:45 p.m. game vs. South Dakota State on Friday is followed up with an 8 p.m. game vs. Pittsburgh on Saturday. Fans can click here for more information on the Paradise Jam tournament.
• Maryland fans will want to make sure they check their email and here at umterps.com for some amazing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
There are also plenty of auctions ending on Cyber Monday, including all of the Legends of Maryland Basketball Flashback jerseys. Fans can also pick up a complete set of the famous Maryland emoji t-shirts from the 2015 football season.
Tweet of the Week
Awesome morning handing out Thanksgiving dinners at the Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Baltimore! #givethanks pic.twitter.com/5Xk7dNrkLI
— Maryland WBB (@umdwbb) November 22, 2015
Wrapping Up
That's it for this edition of the umterps Notebook. Don't forget to follow Maryland athletics on all of the social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
