Maryland wrapped up its 2016-17 dual match slate Saturday with a pair of close road duals at Rider and Drexel. Maryland was neck-and-neck with Rider, before going down 23-20 then dropped a 20-12 team decision to Drexel in the night cap in Philadelphia.
Ryan Diehl (141) and Youssif Hemida (285) were both two-match winners for the Terps on the day. Maryland ends the 2016-17 season 2-16 in dual matches, and will now shift focus to the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Indiana March 4-5.
RIDER
23
20
MARYLAND
February 18, 2016 || Lawrenceville, N.J. || 3:00 p.m.
Match #1 -- After dropping the first bout, Maryland answered back with three straight victories to take a 15-3 advantage on Rider in the team's first dual of the afternoon. Redshirt senior Billy Rappo (133) tabbed Maryland's first win with a 5-3 decision in sudden victory to beat Anthony Cefolo. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Diehl (141) followed it up with his second pin of the season, putting Evan Fidelibus on his back at 3:49 to push Maryland's lead to 9-3.
The Terps then got a second straight fall, this time coming from redshirt sophomore Adam Whitesell in the 149-pound match over Gino Fluri. It was his team-leading 10th pin of the season.
Maryland then ran into the heart of the Bronc lineup, which includes three ranked wrestlers in #18 B.J. Clagon (157), #5 Chad Walsh (165) and #13 Ryan Wolfe (197). All three, in addition to 174-pounder Dean Sherry and 184-pounder Wayne Stinson notched wins to put the match out of reach. Rider improves to 13-1 on the season with the win.
DREXEL
20
12
MARYLAND
February 18, 2017 || Philadelphia, Pa. || 7:00 p.m.
Match #2 -- Maryland found itself in another back-and-forth contest against Drexel in their final match of the day, which junior Michael Beck started off with the victory at 125 pounds. Rappo was toe-to-toe with #11 Kevin Devoy Jr. in the 133-pound match, and was right there with the ranked Dragon grappler before going down, 6-1.
Diehl swung the tides back Maryland's way with a scrappy victory in the 141-pound bout, winning 6-1 over David Pearce. Diehl came out ahead on a few hotly contested scrambles, before ending the day unbeaten.
#18 Mattew Cimato clinched a major to put the Dragons up 7-6, but Maryland answered right back at 157 after Justin Alexander took out Willie Davis, 7-4.
The next four matches were key for the hosts, winning three decisions and a major decision in the upper weights to clinch the victory. Youssif Hemida ended the match on a high note like he's done at several points throughout the year, upsetting a ranked oppoenent in #17 Joey Goodhart. Hemida won his fifth sudden victory match of the year against the Dragon heavyweight, scoring a takedown to seal his 17th win of the season.
-Terps-
