Terps still looking for top-25 wins

As the weather gets colder, the Terrapin wrestling team keeps getting hotter this season, going 5-1 after a 2-2 start.

Plus, the No. 23 Terps moved into the top 25 earlier this season for the first time since 1993, and could continue rising if they can keep up their current three-match winning streak.

"Well, that's what we are supposed to do, win," said redshirt junior Josh Haines. "Everyone on the team is wrestling great and has a good head on their shoulders so I see no reason that we are going to go anywhere but up in the rankings."

But the outlook is not completely optimistic. The Terps have lost three of their four top-25 matchups so far. Though the Terps are ranked themselves, their wins have come against opponents who, for the most part, are not near the top 25.

As dominant as the Terps have been against lesser opponents, there are doubts about how well they will fare the rest of the season, with the ACC schedule and dual matches against two top-25 teams, No. 21 Navy and No. 22 Penn, looming.

"All of us are very proud about our accomplishments so far, and it is exciting to see our fan base grow because of our success," Haines said. "But our season is only a third of the way done."

And it remains to be seen whether the Terps who have pounded opponents in recent weeks will continue to show up or whether the team will revert back to its rocky play from the start of the season.

Two early wins against Army and Mercyhurst were solid but expected. But then the Terps lost two straight against top competition, then-No. 16 Edinboro and then-No. 11 Penn State. The Terps lost narrowly to Edinboro, 19-15, but were demolished by the Nittany Lions, 34-3.

Since the blowout loss, though, the Terps have been able to turn their luck around in their last six matches, beating then-No. 5 Michigan, Appalachian State, Lehigh, Rider and Rutgers, losing only to then-No. 9 Central Michigan.

And it's not just the team as a whole that is doing well. Three of the team's wrestlers have garnered ACC Wrestler of the Week honors. Four Terrapin wrestlers are currently in the top 20 in their weight classes.

Haines, in particular, has shown his strength and leadership ability as the team's most experienced wrestler. Ranked No. 20 in the 184-pound weight class, Haines just upset Rider's No. 10 Doug Umbehauer on Saturday.

Haines played down his individual accomplishments, instead emphasizing the importance of teamwork.

"I know that it is cliché to say that our team is like a family, but that is exactly why our team has been so successful," Haines said. "No one is boisterous about their wins over ranked guys. No one is out just for themselves. Everyone on our team is there for each other 24/7."

The team wrestles next at the Southern Scuffle Dec. 29-30 in Greensboro, N.C., after a three-week break for finals.

"We are all excited about the break, but we will be training hard and getting our bodies to recover so we can go to the Southern Scuffle and have a bunch of guys place and win the tournament," Haines said.

And as the Terps take a rest, they'll need to regroup and start pushing other top-25 teams if they want to continue rising in the rankings.

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