Wrestling rolls past N.C. State to remain undefeated

For as long as coach Kerry McCoy can remember, this is the first time his Terrapins wrestling team has been perfect four months into the season. The Terps had taken down American, Virginia Tech and Navy, among others, so what would stop them against N.C. State on Sunday?

Not much, apparently. The No. 9 Terps (12-0, 2-0 ACC) defeated the No. 46 Wolfpack (4-5, 0-3), 27-12, at the Comcast Pavilion on Sunday afternoon, taking six of the first seven matches as they let simple momentum take care of the result.

"The guys got up for the match," McCoy said. "There was a conference seeding on the line, but it's continuing to be the top team that kept us focused."

Quite often this season, McCoy said, the Terps have split a meet's first two matches. But in Sunday's meet, lightweights Shane Gentry and Geoffrey Alexander collected eight points with back-to-back victories.

"Shane did a great job getting us started, and Geoff did well, too," McCoy said. "The last few matches we've split the first two, so it was good to get in that commanding position."

No. 19 Gentry won, 8-4, over the Wolfpack's Colin Fought at 125 pounds, and Alexander followed with a technical fall over Ben Elliot at 133. Ben Dorsay, No. 11 Kyle John, No. 15 Jimmy Sheptock, No. 2 Josh Asper and No. 5 Christian Boley also added points in their team's dominant win over the Wolfpack.

With a pin from Asper — his fifth this season — his individual record also remains unblemished at 19-0.

"It was a really good match," McCoy said. "Our guys were up against the wall, and because it was a conference match, for the team and individually, it was really important. We're starting to get to our strong stage."

McCoy hopes that strength will continue this weekend in the Terps' match at No. 53 North Carolina on Friday and their match at No. 33 Virginia on Sunday — two important ACC contests.

"Those are going to be two really tough matches with them and individual seeds on the line for the season," he said. "We're doing some scouting, but our ultimate goal is to focus on ourselves so we can be the best at the end of the year. There are a few tendencies we need to be aware of, but it's up to us to go out there and wrestle to the best of our ability."

egan@umdbk.com