Maryland's Probables
Weight	Name
125	Michael Beck
125	Alex Vargas
133	Billy Rappo
149	#12 Alfred Bannister
149	Adam Whitesell
157	Justin Alexander
157	Danny Boychuck
165	Josh Ugalde
165	Patrick Gerish
174	Sam Rowell
184	Idris White
197	David-Brian Whisler
285	Youssif Hemida

Midlands Capsule
Session I (Dec. 29) || 9:30 a.m. Session II (Dec. 29) || 7 p.m. Session III (Dec. 30) || Noon Session IV (Dec. 30) || 7 p.m.

TERP SPOTLIGHT
David-Brian Whisler R-Fr. || 197 Pounds Warren, Ohio Named Terp of the Week after winning three matches in duals vs. North Dakota State, George Mason and Rutgers...team-best four wins by major decision this year.

Next Home Match
Maryland vs. Illinois Sunday, Jan. 8 | 11:00 am Maryland will return home for its second Big Ten match of the season on January 8 vs. Illinois in a two-match day at the XFINITY Center. The Terps will then wrestle Navy at 1 pm in its annual Beauty and the Beast match with gymnastics. | TICKETS

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland (2-5, 0-1 B1G) will travel to Evanston, Ill. for the 54th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships December 29-30 hosted by Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The event is one of the premier tournaments in college wrestling, showcasing the top talent from the nation's best teams. 

Over 70 ranked wrestlers will take to the mats at Midlands, with 38 competitors ranked in the top-10 of their respective weight classes. Seeding for the tournament will take place the night before the event on Wednesday, December 28.

The finals will be shown live on the Big Ten Network on December 30 starting at 8:00 pm. Iowa has claimed the past three team titles at the event. For more information, head to the Midlands Home Page. 

MARYLAND at midlands

• Maryland has had 29 wrestlers place in the top eight all-time at the Midlands Championships since 1986.
• The Terps have had 20 top eight finishers since the 2008 season, producing at least one in every season. This is Maryland's ninth consecutive appearance at the Tournament. 
• Maryland has had three wrestlers win their respective weight classes all-time, including both Jimmy Sheptock (184) and Christian Boley (197) during the 2013 season. Alex Krom took the 141 pound crown in 2009.
• Redshirt senior Lou Mascola (157) recorded the fastest fall at the event in 2014, pinning Wabash's Reece Lefever in 22 seconds. Mascola went on to place sixth in his weight class. Dawson Peck picked up the Midlands Most Falls Award in 2015 with a tournament-best four pins en route to a sixth place finish. 
• UMD's four top eight finishers at 2014's Midlands were the most ever in a single year for the program.
• Redshirt senior Billy Rappo (133/141), redshirt junior Justin Alexander (157), redshirt sophomore Garrett Wesneski (197) and sophomore Youssif Hemida (285) all return with Midlands experience. 

A LOOK AT THE TERPS

• Redshirt sophomore Alfred Bannister (149) and redshirt junior Justin Alexander (157) both notched wins for Maryland in the team's home opener vs. #12 Rutgers on December 11.
• The Scarlet Knights came away with the team decision, 21-13, for their first B1G win of the year but the Terps (2-5, 0-1 B1G) produced four winners on a day that saw several wrestlers adjust weight classes.
• Alexander earned his first ranked win of the season on December 11, taking out #20 John Van Brill of Rutgers.
• After missing time early on in the season due to injury, Alexander was able to get some matches in as Maryland's lone representative at the Cleveland State Open, taking fourth in the 157-poind division. Alexander is 5-2 overall and 2-1 in duals.
• Redshirt freshman David-Brian Whisler (197) is in the midst of a breakout season for the Terps, boasting a 10-2 record (5-2 duals) with a team-best four major decision wins.
• Whisler has won four straight matches dating back to Grapple at the Garden, with three of them coming by major decision.
• Bannister has kept fans on the edge of their seats this season, winning four of his matches by either sudden victory or tiebreaker. Bannister has won nine of his 12 matches by one or two points this season and is 6-0 in bouts over the past two seasons that go to overtime.

beauty and the beast

• The Maryland gymnastics and wrestling teams will host their third annual Beauty and the Beast event on Sunday, January 8 at 1 p.m. The teams will compete simultaneously on the XFINITY Center main floor with the gymnasts facing West Virginia and the wrestlers taking on local rival Navy.
• Maryland hosted 2,192 fans at last year's Beauty and the Beast event, creating an incredible environment for the competing athletes.
• Admission is free to Beauty and the Beast. Prior to the event, fans are encouraged to arrive early and enjoy in fan fest in Heritage Hall. Activities include face painting with the Maryland Cheerleaders, a photobooth, poster making station, games, and more.
• The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative Beauty and The Beast poster. After the event, fans can participate in an autograph session with the wrestlers and gymnasts.

next up

• Maryland will return to dual match competition on January 8 for a  pair of matyches vs. Illinois and Navy at XFINITY Center. The Terps will also have entires at the Franklin & Marshall Open on January 7. 

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