Feb. 24, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Maryland 197-pound junior Hudson Taylor has been named Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week following two shutout victories over fellow ranked opponents in the Terps’ two most recent matches.

Taylor, a Pennington, N.J., native and the nation’s 10th-ranked wrestler in the country at 197 pounds, won his highly-anticipated rematch with ninth-ranked Cayle Byers of George Mason on Saturday, winning a 5-0 decision. Byers pinned Taylor earlier in the season at the Nittany Lion Open.

Taylor followed Saturday’s big victory with a 12-0 major decision against No. 19 Brent Jones of Virginia on Sunday. Altogether, Taylor did not surrender a single point in 14 minutes of action against ranked wrestlers and the Terps won both duals, defeating George Mason, 32-10, and Virginia, 25-15. Taylor finished a perfect 5-0 in ACC duals for the second consecutive season. Maryland finished the regular season by winning six of its final seven duals to finish 10-8-1 overall and 3-2 in the ACC.

The Wrestler of the Week Award is the first of the season for Taylor, who received the honor five times in 2007-08 and once in 2006-07.

ACC teams have this week off in preparation for the ACC Championships, which will be held March 7 at Blacksburg, Va. Maryland will enter the event as the defending champion.