Maryland (9-8, 1-7 B1G) vs. Binghamton (4-12, 3-5 EIWA)
February 17, 2023
XFINITY Center College Park, MD
7:00 pm EST
Maryland (9-8, 1-7 B1G) vs. Columbia (5-7, 5-3 EIWA)
February 19, 2023
Schiller Court At Levien Gymnasium
1:00 pm EST
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland will conclude dual season this weekend with a home match against Binghamton on Friday followed by a Sunday rod dual against Columbia. Friday's match is part of Beauty and the Beast, an event where wrestling and gymnastics will compete side-by-side on the XFINITY Center main floor. Gymnastics will face Southern Connecticut State.
The Terrapins are coming off a historic win against Purdue. The win marked the Terps' first Big Ten win since January of 2016 and just the second overall. It was the first for
Alex Clemsen. Down 15-4 at intermission and then 18-10 with two bouts remaining, the Terps staged a massive comeback to come away with a 19-18 victory.
Friday's match will air on B1G+ while Sunday's can be caught on ESPN+.
Projected Starters - Maryland vs. Binghamton
*Intermat Rankings
Projected Starters - maryland vs.columbia
*Intermat Rankings
THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
B1G Time
- On Friday, Feb. 10, Maryland won its first Big Ten match since Jan. 10, 2016, defeating Purdue 19-18. It was the Terps' second Big Ten win since joining the conference and first for head coach Alex Clemsen.
- Eighth-year senior Jaron Smith clinched the win for the Terps with a 3-2 decision at heavyweight, sending the crowd and team into a frenzy.
- Maryland rallied by winning four of the final five matches. After trailing 9-0 and 15-4, the Terps made the comeback. John Martin Best won in overtime, 6-5 at 165. Then Dominic Solis captured a 5-4 decision.
- In his return to action after an injury, No. 17 Jaxon Smith pinned Hayden Filipovichin at 2:00 to bring the Terps within 18-16, setting the stage for Jaron Smith's 3-2 victory.
Successful start to the season
- The Terps won all three matches in the Nov. 5 home quad meet in dominant fashion, beating Bloomsburg 37-6, Duke 37-0 and American 29-10. In total, Maryland won 27 of 30 bouts. Braxton Brown, Kal Miller, Ethen Miller, Michael North, Dominic Solis, Jaxon Smith and Jaron Smith all went 3-0 in their individual bouts.
- Maryland came away with its biggest victory in nearly a decade with an 18-16 win over No. 16 Pittsburgh on the road. Brown, Ethen Miller, North, Solis and Jaron Smith all won their bouts, with Brown winning by fall for a pivotal six-points.
- Maryland improved to 5-0 with an 18-15 win over local rivalry Navy, marking the second year in a row the Terps topped the Midshipmen. Jaxon Smith, Brown and Ethen Miller all won by major decisions and the Terps didn't allow Navy to get any bonus points on their end.
- Jaxon Smith (4th), Ethen Miller (4th) and Brown (7th) all placed at the 2023 Southern Scuffle. 14 Terps competed overall.
- The Terps responded to a tough Big Ten opening loss on criteria points with a 3-1 mark at the Virginia Duals, including the first win over Oklahoma in program history. Maryland's 8-2 mark through the first ten matches was the best since the 2011-12 season. Braxton Brown, Ethen Miller and Michael North each put together 4-0 weekends.
Jaxon's sensational Summer
- Redshirt freshman Jaxon Smith represented Team USA all summer with great success.
- Smith claimed US Open and Pan-American titles, outscoring foes 54-2 in five bouts alongside a pin while regularly dispatching opponents in the first period.
- He capped off his summer with a trip to Bulgaria for the 2022 U20 World Championships on Aug. 16-17. Clemsen served as Smith's personal coach and accompanied the Cartersville, GA native to Bulgaria.
Key returners
- The Terps bring back multiple key wrestlers who competed in Big Ten duals last season.
- Jaron Smith headlines the group of returners as he is back in College Park for his eighth season. Last year, Smith placed seventh at the 2022 Southern Scuffle and went 1-2 at the 2022 NCAA Championships with a victory over Utah Valley's Evan Bockman. Smith will transition from the 197-weight class to a heavyweight this year.
- Dominic Solis returns for his third season. The Laurel native finished seventh at the 2022 Big Ten Championships with victories over Gerrit Nijenhuis, DJ Shannon, and Connor O'Neill. He also competed at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Fantastic FreshMen
- Maryland has a plethora of redshirt freshmen poised to make a big impact this year.
- Jaxon Smith, Ethen Miller and Braxton Brown, the headliners of Clemsen's eighth-ranked 2021 recruiting class, will see their first full season on the mat after redshirting last year. All three guys had big showings at last year's Clarion Open.
- John Martin Best will also be back after going down with a knee injury that ended his freshman season on Dec. 4 against Duke. Best earned the first dual victory of career with a 5-0 decision victory over Duke's Brandon LaRue.
- Jackson Cockrell, a redshirt freshman due to the COVID-19 ruling, has two years of experience under his belt and is expected to play a big role at 133 pounds.
- Kal Miller, the younger brother of Ethen, will see a lot of action as a true freshman. Miller starred for Park Hill High School and was a two-time Missouri State Champion.
