Wrestling’s bid for perfection ends in loss to Cavaliers

Terps now 13-1 after weekend of split results in conference play

Published: Sunday, January 29, 2012

Updated: Sunday, January 29, 2012 23:01

Charlie DeBoyace/The Diamondback

157-pound Kyle John, shown during a match earlier this season against Bloomsburg, was one of six Terps to lose to Virginia yesterday.

The Terrapins wrestling team opened up its weekend in the strongest way possible. It finished it in a manner no one expected.

Two days after starting an eventual 25-10 victory against No. 53 North Carolina on Friday with a pin from heavyweight Spencer Myers, the Terps fell to No. 33 Virginia for the first time in six years, spoiling a 13-0 record with a 22-14 loss.

"It was a tough match," coach Kerry McCoy said. "Nothing really went wrong, they were just a tough team, and we didn't really wrestle to our ability. There isn't anything where if this would have happened, we would have won. We just got beat."

The Terps lost six of 10 matches yesterday, getting wins from 165-pound Josh Asper, 174-pound Jimmy Sheptock, 197-pound Christian Boley and heavyweight Spencer Myers. Asper remained unbeaten (22-0) after two more wins this weekend.

Virginia (7-1, 4-1 ACC) won the first five bouts yesterday afternoon, taking control of the match with a 16-0 lead. The second-ranked Asper scored the first points for the Terps with a 4-3 decision over No. 15 Nicolas Sulzer.

Following Asper, No. 15 Sheptock piled on the points to win, 11-3, over Vinny Waldhauser, earning bonus points for the Terps. Boley and Myers each earned a major decision, but to no avail, as the Terps (13-1, 3-1) went home with their first loss.

McCoy said that although his team started the weekend with a win over North Carolina, his wrestlers weren't grappling the way he thought they should have in both matches.

"It's always good to get the win, and we did wrestle well," McCoy said. "But our guys weren't focused. They may have been a little off. They weren't really ready to go out there and battle as much as they needed to."

The Terps won't have another match until Duke comes to Comcast Pavilion on Feb. 12, and McCoy said he hopes his team uses its time off to improve on the disheartening weekend. The Terps can still tie for the regular-season conference championship with a win against the Blue Devils, but after this weekend, they'll have to share it with Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Said McCoy: "We just need to go home and refocus."

egan@umdbk.com