Wrestling rolls into ACC Championships after weekend sweep

Senior Jon Kohler jogged calmly off the mat after his final home match yesterday, having recorded a major decision over George Mason's Denny Herndon. Four bouts later, senior Mike Letts pinned the Patriots' James Kaden in the first period of their match.

For these Terrapin wrestling seniors, their final weekend of dual-meet competition was nothing short of dominant.

The No. 26 Terps (16-4, 4-1 ACC) won all three of their matches in convincing fashion during the final weekend of the regular season, defeating Duke (2-6-1, 0-5-0) and No. 24 N.C. State (9-10, 1-4) on the road Saturday before besting George Mason (0-20) on Senior Night yesterday by a combined 125-8.

"I was just really happy to win like that," 141-pound Kohler said. "Not giving up any points, getting the major — it's just exciting."

"It's a surreal feeling," 174-pound Letts said. "It's good that I've gone this far, but it sucks that it has to end, too. I just don't want to have any letdowns — there still are other things I want to accomplish this season."

Both Kohler and Letts annihilated their competition throughout the weekend, as Kohler finished his final three dual matches with a pin, an overtime decision and a major decision, while Letts recorded two pins and a technical fall.

"Those guys are captains, leaders of the team, so it's one of those bittersweet things," coach Kerry McCoy said. "We won't have a chance to see them compete here at Comcast again, but they did a great job. ... We're going to miss them, for sure."

The Terps also dominated their opponents as a whole this weekend, losing just two of the 30 individual bouts they competed in. The team finished the three matches with seven pins, five technical falls and five forfeits.

"It gives us a lot of confidence knowing that we're that much better than a lot of the guys we wrestle," Letts said. "We just have to keep doing what we're doing and stay focused."

"It shows us that we're doing all the work we need to do," Kohler said. "But we got to realize that this is not the end."

The final stretch of the season for the Terps will begin in two weeks, when they travel to Charlottesville, Va., on March 5 for the ACC Championships. McCoy is happy with the way the Terps ended their regular season, but he understands these victories are just the first step toward the team's championship aspirations.

"It was a great way to send our seniors out, great way to end the year," McCoy said. "The guys are performing the way they should be at this point, and they wrestled well. We just have to keep this momentum rolling into the ACC Tournament."

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