2008 Woodie Awards
Six Terps prep for NCAAs
Kate Yanchulis
Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: Sports
As the No. 22 Terrapin wrestling team celebrated its first ACC tournament title in more than 30 years Saturday, it also savored another major accomplishment - six Terp wrestlers qualified for the NCAA tournament.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Terps will send more than three wrestlers to the NCAA tournament. On Saturday, all 10 Terp wrestlers made it to the semifinals of their weight classes, and six advanced to the finals and are now in the NCAA tournament March 20-22 in St. Louis, the most of any ACC school.
"Our team was great," coach Pat Santoro said. "All of the guys wrestled well. There will be a lot of great competitors at nationals, but this is what these guys have been working for. They really want this, and they'll be ready."
An ACC tournament championship is no doubt an impressive feat. It was the Terps' first since 1973, and the first time since 1978 that a team other than North Carolina or N.C. State won the title.
"It's great," redshirt sophomore Hudson Taylor, ACC champion and NCAA qualifier at 197-pounds, said. "This is what we've been working for. It feels good to see it pay off."
But because of the qualifying process for the NCAA tournament, having six wrestlers make it might even be more impressive. More than half of the Terps' starters will now compete on a national stage.
Considering the conference the Terps are in also magnifies the accomplishment of qualifying six wrestlers. The ACC, which is considered by some to be the cream of the crop for NCAA basketball, is a relative weakling in the NCAA wrestling landscape - only the East Regional conference gets fewer representatives to the national tournament.
The NCAA allocates a set number of qualifiers to each wrestling conference at the beginning of the season based on the expected strength of the conference and the number of teams.
This setup favors large conferences with perennial powers, such as the Big Ten and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. The Big Ten alone sends 72 wrestlers to the NCAA tournament, an average of 6 qualifiers per school.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Terps will send more than three wrestlers to the NCAA tournament. On Saturday, all 10 Terp wrestlers made it to the semifinals of their weight classes, and six advanced to the finals and are now in the NCAA tournament March 20-22 in St. Louis, the most of any ACC school.
"Our team was great," coach Pat Santoro said. "All of the guys wrestled well. There will be a lot of great competitors at nationals, but this is what these guys have been working for. They really want this, and they'll be ready."
An ACC tournament championship is no doubt an impressive feat. It was the Terps' first since 1973, and the first time since 1978 that a team other than North Carolina or N.C. State won the title.
"It's great," redshirt sophomore Hudson Taylor, ACC champion and NCAA qualifier at 197-pounds, said. "This is what we've been working for. It feels good to see it pay off."
But because of the qualifying process for the NCAA tournament, having six wrestlers make it might even be more impressive. More than half of the Terps' starters will now compete on a national stage.
Considering the conference the Terps are in also magnifies the accomplishment of qualifying six wrestlers. The ACC, which is considered by some to be the cream of the crop for NCAA basketball, is a relative weakling in the NCAA wrestling landscape - only the East Regional conference gets fewer representatives to the national tournament.
The NCAA allocates a set number of qualifiers to each wrestling conference at the beginning of the season based on the expected strength of the conference and the number of teams.
This setup favors large conferences with perennial powers, such as the Big Ten and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. The Big Ten alone sends 72 wrestlers to the NCAA tournament, an average of 6 qualifiers per school.
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