Terps to Face No. 12 Rutgers Friday

1/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

By: Maryland Athletics

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland men's wrestling team (4-9, 1-5 Big Ten) will return to competition on Friday, January 29 when the squad travels to Pistcataway, N.J. to take on No. 12/12 Rutgers (11-3, 2-2 Big Ten).

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Setting the staGe

Maryland came up short its lone dual meet last weekend, falling to Navy 24-18 in Annapolis, Md. The Terps were originally scheduled to wrestle Wisconsin at home on Sunday, January 24, but the match was postponed due to winter storm Jonas.
The Terps did post four victories against the Midshipmen, which included pins from freshman Brendan Burnham (165) and redshirt sophomore Dawson Peck (285). Redshirt senior Geoffrey Alexander (133) remained undefeated in duals (4-0) with a 6-4 decision victory, while redshirt junior Billy Rappo (141) won his team-best 16^th match of the season with a tiebreaker decision.
Three Maryland wrestlers (Geoffrey Alexander, Lou Mascola & Dawson Peck) were ranked in the first of four coaches' panel rankings for the 2015-16 season released by the NCAA last week.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Diehl and redshirt junior Shyheim Brown both posted undefeated records in the 149-pound weight class to highlight Maryland's day at the Shorty Hitchcock Invitational hosted by Millersville University on January 16. Diehl now sports a 13-4 record on the season, and has rattled off nine consecutive victories while Brown holds an 11-1 mark.
Maryland wrestling secured the program's first head-to-head B1G victory as a member of the conference over Michigan State on January 10. The Terps won seven bouts, including the final three of the match to get the historic 26-10 win. Check out video from behind the scenes.
It was a day of firsts for the Terps in their win over the Spartans, which included the first Big Ten dual match victories for freshman Wade Hodges (141), redshirt-freshman Garrett Wesneski (197) and freshman Youssif Hemida (285).
Redshirt-sophomore Tyler Goodwin (133) and freshman Jaron Smith (184) also tabbed their first dual win against Big Ten opponents, as the pair secured victories against Minnesota on January 8. Goodwin notched another win against Purdue, picking up an 11-7 decision to move to 7-2 on the year. Smith is now 3-2 in the Big Ten, and notched his third fall as a Terp at Indiana.
Alexander remains ranked top 20 in the latest InterMat Wrestling NCAA Division I Rankings, currently the No. 16 wrestler in his weight class nationwide.
The Terps took 21^st in the field at the 53^rd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern December 29-30.
Redshirt-sophomore Dawson Peck (285) placed sixth in the field in the heavyweight division at the event, while capturing the Midlands Most Falls Award with a tournament-best four pins. Peck finished 5-3 overall at the two-day tournament, which featured some of the top wrestlers from around the country.
Peck was just the second Terp to win the Midlands Most Falls Award, after Hudson Taylor also earned the honor in 2008 with four pins. Taylor finished seventh overall in the 197-pound weight class that year. Peck now boasts a team-best eight falls on the season.
Redshirt senior Geoffrey Alexander (133) was sharp against Nebraska in his 2015-16 dual match debut, picking up a 6-2 decision over then-No. 9 Eric Montoya.
Redshirt-junior Billy Rappo (141) continues to lead the Terps in total victories this season, now 16-8 on the year. Rappo is also tied for second on the team with Adam Whitesell (141) in falls with five.
Freshman Brendan Burnham (165) delivered the Terps' biggest surprise in Iowa City on November 20 when he took out the Hawks' Burke Paddock, 9-5.

Maryland Probables

125: Michael Beck or Jhared Simmons
133: Geoffrey Alexander or Tyler Goodwin
141: Alfred Bannister or Billy Rappo
149: Wade Hodges or Ryan Diehl
157: Lou Mascola
165: Brendan Burnham or Tyler Manion
174: Josh Snook or Derrick Evanovich
184: Jaron Smith
197: Garrett Wesneski
285: Dawson Peck or Youssif Hemida

scouting rutgers

(Rutgers Wrestling Home Page) (Roster) (Schedule) (Stats)

Rutgers held onto its No 12 ranking in both the Intermat Wrestling and NWCA rankings after remaining idle over the past week. The Scarlet Knights were previously edged by Minnesota 17-16 in their last match on January 17, dropping from the No. 6 position in both polls.
Rutgers boasts an 11-3 record on the year, with the team's only losses coming at the hands of No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 2 Iowa and No. 17 Minnesota.
The Scarlet Knights carry a deep lineup currently holding six wrestlers ranked inside the Intermat top-20. Sixth-ranked Anthony Giraldo has established himself as one of the elite wrestlers nationwide at 141 pounds, as the redshirt sophomore currently sports an 18-2 record (12-1 duals) and took fourth overall at the Midlands Championships.
The 133-pound matchup will also be on the marquee bouts of the meet, with No. 18 redshirt freshman Anthony Giraldo (13-7, 9-5 duals) projected to go for Rutgers.
There will be a few potential rematches from earlier this season at the Midlands Championships, including the third possible head-to-head meeting between UMD's Dawson Peck and No. 13 Billy Smith (17-5, 11-3 duals). Smith managed a pair of decision victories including a 5-0 win in the fifth place match. Jaron Smith will also get another shot at redshirt sophomore Nicholas Gravina (13-6, 9-3) who won a 7-2 decision in their opening round meeting at Midlands.
Projected to wrestle for Rutgers: No. 20 Sean McCabe or Josh Patrick (125); No. 18 Anthony Giraldo (133); No. 6 Anthony Ashnault (141); Tyson Dippery (149); No. 17 Richie Lewis or John Van Brill (157); No. 8 Anthony Perrotti (165); Phil Bakuckas or Anthony Pafumi (174); Nicholas Gravina (184); Hayden Hrymack (197); No. 13 Billy Smith (285).

Last meeting

Rutgers holds a 7-5-1 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, and picked up a 24-11 victory when the teams met last season in College Park on January 18. The Terps won the three meetings prior to last year in 2006, 07 & 13.

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