Nov. 25, 2007

Maryland Shocks No. 5 Michigan; Wins Two of Three at Northeast Duals

TROY, N.Y. - Down 16-6 with three matches to go against No. 5 Michigan, the Maryland wrestling team completed an improbable comeback to take down the Wolverines, 18-16, in its opening match at the Journeymen/BRUTE Northeast Duals. Redshirt junior Josh Haines took down the No. 3 ranked wrestler at 184 pounds, redshirt sophomore Hudson Taylor scored his first of three falls on the day, and redshirt freshman Patrick Gilmore completed the run to steal the win. The Terrapins went on to beat Appalachian State, 31-7, before losing to No. 9 Central Michigan.

The Terps were down 16-6 after seven matches against the Wolverines with redshirt sophomores Brendan Byrne and Stephen Bell opening the dual with a pair of decisions. Michigan's powerful lineup, which featured three wrestlers ranked in the top five in their respective weight classes, rattled off five straight wins to take the commanding lead. Maryland's wrestlers kept the damage to a minimum though, allowing four decisions and one major.

Haines, who pinned No. 16 Eric Chine last weekend, ended the Michigan streak with a stunning upset of Todd. After a scoreless first period, Haines rode out Todd to accumulate 2:00 of riding time. In the third, Haines scored an escape and a takedown. Todd's only point came on a stalling penalty to Haines.

Taylor recorded his fifth pin of the season, and most important one to date, in the first period against Anthony Biondo to pull the Terps within one, 16-15, with just the heavyweights to go.

Gilmore and his opponent, Matthew Guhn, went back and forth with Gilmore almost recording a pin at the end of the first and second periods. Gilmore began to pull away though with a 14-11 advantage and then closed the match out with an escape and a takedown to give Maryland one of its biggest wins in program history.

Virginia Takes Two of Three at Northeast Duals

TROY, N.Y. - The Virginia wrestling team continued its successful month of November by winning two of its three dual meets Saturday at the Journeyman/Brute Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y. The Cavaliers opened with a 23-12 win over Lehigh before thumping Clarion, 30-10, in their second dual. In the finale, Virginia (7-1) dropped a 25-10 decision to fifth-ranked Michigan.

With their seven dual-meet wins this year, the Cavaliers already have matched their dual-meet win total of 2006-07 when the team went 7-10.

"We had another solid step in the right direction for the program," Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. "Any time you can beat a team like Lehigh with a legendary coach like Greg Strobel and over 100 All-Americans in their history, it is huge. We are really starting to make a name for ourselves and there were a lot of people in the gym talking about the University of Virginia. I was really happy with the way our guys wrestled. The amazing thing was 50 percent of our lineup was freshmen. I'm excited to think about the possibilities that lie ahead in the future."

NC State Drops Two At The Saint Edward Duals

LAKEWOOD, Ohio - Darrion Caldwell won three matches, including a first-period fall over sixth-ranked Brent Metcalf, but NC State dropped two of three matches Saturday at the Saint Edward Duals at Saint Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. The Wolfpack won its opening match, 26-17 over Iowa Central, but dropped a 22-20 decision to the University of Findlay, then fell 37-9 to fourth-ranked Iowa.

The Wolfpack fell to 1-5 in dual matches for the season, all against difficult competiton. Central Iowa is the two-time defending juco national champion. Findlay is a perennial power in Division II. Previously, the Wolfpack dropped matches to Oklahoma, Purdue and Michigan State, all considered strong wrestling programs. The matches were the first of the season for Central Iowa, Findlay and Iowa.

Duke at Indiana Duals

Duke 27, Liberty 13
Cumberlands 23, Duke 21
Indiana 36, Duke 6
Ohio 26, Duke 17
Oregon State 22, Duke 17

More to follow...