March 3, 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. - Senior Jason Keissling and freshman Mike Letts won the ACC titles at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, as the Maryland wrestling team finished second at the 2007 ACC Championship at Reynolds Coliseum on March 3. Redshirt freshman Hudson Taylor and sophomore James Knox earned second place finishes.

The second place finish is the best for Maryland since its 1990 showing when it also finished in second. NC State won the 2007 ACC Championship with 103.5 points while the Terps followed with 67.5. North Carolina was a close third with 60.5 points.

Keissling earned his first ACC title at 165 pounds with a 3-2 decision against #3 Eric Decker. Kiessling got the only takedown of the match with 58 seconds left in the first period and then he earned an escape early in the second. Those three points would prove to be enough.

Kiessling topped #4 Aaron Glover of Duke, 13-1, in the semis after receiving a first round bye to reach the finals.

At 174 pounds, Letts reached the finals in very similar fashion as Kiessling as he beat Duke's #4 John Barone by major decision, 16-3, after earning a first round bye.

In the finals against NC State's #3 Rick Brownlee, Letts earned two takedowns in the first period that Brownlee escaped from to make it 4-2 after one. Letts then opened the match up with an escape early in the second and then another takedown with under a minute left to take a 7-2 advantage that he would never relinquish. He added one more takedown in the final stanza and added a riding time bonus point for the 10-4 win.

Taylor earned a pair of wins by fall in the first round and the semis to advance to the 197 pound final. He first pinned Patrick Keenum of Duke in 4:16 and then he took care of Virginia's #4 Kyle Narkiewicz in 1:13.

In the final against #2 Ryan Goodman of NC State, Taylor took a 1-0 lead into the third period. With Goodman on bottom, he got a reversal with just over a minute to take a 2-1 lead. Taylor responded with one of his own a few seconds later, but Goodman countered with yet another reversal with 25 seconds left to take a 4-3 lead. Taylor escaped his grasp with 15 seconds to go and the two went into overtime. In the extra session, Goodman recorded a takedown to collect the 6-4 decision.

Knox knocked off #2 Ross Gitomer of Virginia in the semifinals, 7-6, in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament to advance to the 125 pound championship where he met Taylor Cummings of NC State. Back on January 27, Knox pinned Cummings in overtime to cap off an improbable comeback win against the Wolfpack.

This time, Cummings came out on top with a 1-0 decision. The only point earned was in the second period when Cummings started down. Knox let him go at the opening whistle to go for the takedown. Cummings held off a late push from Knox who had Cummings wrapped as time expired, but no takedown was awarded.

Sophomore Alex Krom (141) and senior Jerry Afari (HWT) both earned third place finishes in their respective weight classes. Krom lost his semifinal bout to #2 Eric Albright of Virginia but came back to win a pair in the consolation bracket to win the bronze. Krom beat Philip Wrightman of Duke and #4 Mike Rappo of North Carolina by decisions.

Afari won his opening round match against Duke's Mike Tunick by major decision but then came up just short in the semifinals against #2 Spencer Nadolsky of North Carolina as he lost 9-8. In the consolation semis, Afari overpowered Virginia Tech's Jim Powers, 13-4, before taking the bronze with a 7-5 decision against #4 Scott Smith of Virginia.

Kiessling and Letts will now begin preparations for the 2007 Division I Wrestling Championships that will take place between March 15-17 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. Four wild cards from the conference will be selected later to represent the ACC at the national championships.

Final Team Standings:
1. NC State - 103.5 points
2. Maryland - 67.5 points
3. North Carolina - 60.5 points
4. Virginia - 45.5 points
5. Virginia Tech - 34.5 points
6. Duke - 23 points

Individual Results
125 - #3 James Knox

First round bye

Semis - Won by decision, 7-6; SV2, vs. #2 Ross Gitomer (Virginia)

Championship final - Lost by decision, 1-0, vs. #4 Taylor Cummings (NC State)

133 - Jon Kohler

First round - Won by decision, 13-9, vs. #3 Garrett Cummings (NC State)

Semis - Lost by decision, 12-6, vs. #2 Eric Albright (Virginia)

Consolation Semis - Lost by decision, 9-5, vs. #4 Sheridan Moran (Virginia Tech)

141 - #2 Alex Krom

First round bye

Semis - Lost by decision, 13-8; SV1, vs. #3 Kellon Balum (Virginia)

Consolation semis - Won by decision, 9-4, vs. Philip Wrightman (Duke)

Consolation final - Won by decision, 5-2, vs. #4 Mike Rappo (North Carolina)

149 - #2 Andrew Schlaffer

First round bye

Semis - Lost by decision, 12-6, vs. #3 Vincent Ramirez (North Carolina)

Consolation semis - Lost by decision, 8-3, vs. Drew Dipasquale (Virginia)

157 - Mike McGill

First round - Lost by decision, 7-4, vs. #3 Jon Bonilla-Bowman (Virginia Tech)

Consolation semis - Won by decision, 5-3, vs. Addison Nuding (Duke)

Consolation final - Lost by decision, 9-8, vs. #2 Ben Flacco (North Carolina)

165 - #1 Jason Kiessling

First round bye

Semis - Won by major decision, 13-1, vs. #4 Aaron Glover (Duke)

Championship final - Won by decision, 3-2, vs. #3 Eric Decker (Virginia Tech)

174 - #1 Mike Letts

First round bye

Semis - Won by major decision, 16-3, vs. #4 John Barone (Duke)

Championship final - Won by decision, 10-4, vs. #3 Rick Brownlee (NC State)

184 - #3 Josh Haines

First round - Won by decision, 6-0, vs. Daniel Tulley (Duke)

Semis - Lost by decision, 7-2, vs. #2 Rocco Caponi (Virginia)

Consolation semis - Won by decision, 4-3, vs. Daniel Llamas (North Carolina)

Consolation final - Lost by default vs. #1 Steve Borjas (Virginia Tech)

197 - #1 Hudson Taylor

First round - Won by fall, 4:16, vs. Patrick Keenum (Duke)

Semis - Won by fall, 1:13, vs. #4 Kyle Narkiewicz (Virginia)

Championship final - Lost by decision, 6-4 (ot), #2 Ryan Goodman (NC State)

HWT - #3 Jerry Afari

First round - Won by major decision, 15-6, vs. Mike Tunick (Duke)

Semis - Lost by decision, 9-8, vs. #2 Spencer Nadolsky (North Carolina)

Consolation semis - Won by major decision, 13-4, vs. Jim Powers (Virginia Tech)

Consolation final - Won by decision, 7-5, vs. #4 Scott Smith (Virginia)

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