GRANTHAM, Pa. – Maryland's youth was on display Saturday at the Messiah Open, as freshmen Youssif Hemida (285), Josh Ugalde (174) and Danny Boychuck (157) captured tournament titles for the Terps. UMD wrestling had solid performances across the board, as the team winds down open tournament season for the 2015-16 campaign.     

Hemida went unbeaten in the heavyweight division, earning four victories including two major decisions. Freshman Josh Ugalde took home the 174-pound title, going 4-0 on the day to improve to 14-6 on the season. The Bound Brook, N.J. native notched a pin and major decision in his run to the final, where he defeated Jordan Pagano of Rutgers by decision, 3-0.  

Maryland dominated the 157-pound bracket, as both redshirt freshman Patrick Gerish and freshman Danny Boychuck advanced to the finals. Gerish went 4-0 in the top end of the bracket, notching an opening round fall (2:23) over Stephen Beam (UMBC) then three straight victories by decision.

After a first round bye and forfeit, Boychuck tallied a pin, then a major decision over Alex Klucker (Lock Haven) as he went unbeaten on the day. The two Terps squared off in the final, where Boychuck captured an 8-2 decision.    

Redshirt freshman Adam Whitesell (141) tore through his opening matches in the 141-pound bracket, notching three consecutive pins. Whitesell knocked off Connor Borton (American) with a fall at 2:27 in his first round match, then took out Andrews Gutierrez (Messiah) in 42 seconds with a pin. The Silver Spring, Md. native made it three in a row with a fall over Nick Ottaviano (Rutgers) in 1:00.

Two losses put Whitesell into the fifth place match, where he notched his fourth pin (3:25) of the day over Andres Gutierrez (Messiah) to finish fifth in the field. Redshirt freshman Ryan Diehl (149) was third overall in the 149-pound bracket, finishing with three pins and four total victories on the day to improve to 17-6 on the season.   

Freshman Joe Barber had a solid showing in the 125-pound bracket, going 4-2 en route to a fourth place finish. After getting off to a 1-1 start in his opening pair of matches, Barber notched three straight wins by decision before dropping a close 4-3 decision to James Gill (TCNJ).

Fellow freshman Peter Robinson notched a seventh place finish in the 133-pound bracket, going 2-2 with a fall and major decision to his name over James Giaccia (American). Freshman Garrett Griffith represented Maryland in the 165-pound ladder, finishing fourth overall with a 3-2 record on the day. Redshirt junior Derrick Evanovich finished his day third overall in the 174-pound bracket, notching a team-high five wins at the tournament.                            

UMD will return to dual match action on February 14 when the squad battles Wisconsin (2-5, 1-3 Big Ten) and George Mason (6-9, 1-3 EWL).  

-Terps-