Feb. 3, 2008

Super Sunday For No. 21 Wrestling; Beats Columbia, 22-12

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The No. 21 Maryland wrestling team bounced back from its setback on Saturday with a 22-12 win against Columbia on February 3 at University Gym. Six wrestlers were victorious for the Terrapins on the day with sophomores Hudson Taylor and Mike Letts leading the way.

Taylor earned his team-leading 15th pin of the season in the second period against Nick Sommerfeld. Going into the weekend, he was tied for the ACC lead and tied for sixth in the nation with his 14 falls. Letts, who wrestled at 184 pounds for the first time this season, won by decision against Kenji Porter, 5-2.

Sophomores Mookie Golden and Jon Kohler kicked things off for the Terps with a pair of wins to give Maryland a 7-0 lead. Golden opened the day with a 4-1 decision against Jerome Greco in his first dual competition of the season. Kohler tacked on four more points with a 12-2 major decision against Nick Standish.

Hokies tripped up by Spartans, 20-17

BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech wrestling team saw its two-match winning streak ended Sunday, falling to UNC Greensboro 20-17 at Cassell Coliseum.

Eric Decker got the Hokies on the board at 174 pounds with a 4-1 decision over Mikal McKee. He led 1-0 going into the third period and turned McKee for two nearfall points. The riding time gave him an extra point for the 4-1 win.

At 184 pounds, Tommy Spellman returned to the mat after sitting out Friday night with the flu, but wasn't back at full strength and was pinned quickly by Jeremy Cannon just 1:11 into the match. At 197 pounds, UNCG's Daren Burns, ranked 11th in the country, tied the school record with his 98th career win, beating D.J. Bruce 6-2.

David Marone and Justin Staylor both won their matches to tie things up heading into intermission. Marone out-quicked Ryan Hsu all match, picking up two takedowns in the second period en route to a 6-4 win at heavyweight. Staylor wiggled out of what looked like a sure-fire pin by Mitchell Johnson at 125 pounds, and ended up coming back with an escape, takedown and three nearfall points in the third period to win 13-7.

With Tech leading 14-13, UNCG came back with a big win at 149 pounds. Marcus Hannah reversed Tech's Matt Rosen late to pick up a big 4-3 win. After Andre Johnson was beaten by Marcus Ring, 9-1, at 157 pounds, it came down to Matt Epperly at 165 pounds. Epperly needed a pin to tie it up, and nearly got it late in the match. Tied at 3-3, Epperly reversed Byron Sigmon, using a headlock to put Sigmon on his back for nearfall points. But Sigmon squirmed free and Epperly went on for the 8-4 win.