Lou Ruland, No. 16 John Kohler, No. 14 Kyle John and No. 3 Josh Asper also earned wins to help Maryland improve to 2-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference action and move into second place in the league standings.
“Virginia is a very good team and they are very well coached. It came down to the wire and that was the expectation,” said head coach Kerry McCoy. “I told the team we have to win the close ones. We were able to get some bonus points tonight and that was the difference.”
The Cavaliers (15-7) struck first thanks to a Matt Snyder major decision over Pat Strizki to put the Terps (12-4) in a four-point hole.
Maryland countered, however, starting at 133 pounds as Ruland pinned Joe Spisak in just 1:31.
“That pin by Lou Ruland was huge,” said McCoy. “When you go match for match, those bonus points make the difference.”
Kohler earned a 9-3 win, his eighth consecutive, over Dave Ebbott to give Maryland a 9-4 lead.
At 149 pounds, ACC Wrestler of the Week Derek Valenti won a close 3-1 sudden victory over Maryland’s Ben Dorsay to bring the Cavaliers within striking distance.
The Terps used back-to-back decisions by John and Asper to create an eight-point advantage heading into the most anticipated match of the night at 174 pounds, pitting Maryland’s No. 19 Mike Letts against No. 4 Chris Henrich.
After a scoreless first period in which Letts, the senior captain, fought off several Henrich strikes, Letts brought the crowd to its feet by earning well over the one minute needed for a riding time bonus. Letts and Henrich exchanged escapes and, in the third, Henrich’s series of shoots paid off as the fourth-ranked grappler finally took down Letts with just under 30 seconds remaining to take the 3-2 decision.
“[Henrich] is a returning All-American and is ranked fourth in the country. He has only lost one match and, ironically, it was against a guy Mike defeated," said McCoy. "Mike put himself in a position to win the match…We will learn from it and get better in time for the ACCs.”
Virginia’s 18th-ranked Jon Fausey topped Corey Peltier 5-3 and Stephen Doty defeated Dallas Brown to give the Cavaliers the one-point edge heading into the final match of the night, at heavyweight.
Just as he did on Jan. 29 against North Carolina, Myers, a true freshman, earned a major decision shutout, this time 8-0 over senior Jack Danilkowicz to clinch the Terrapin team victory.
“This is huge,” said Myers. “To come out here and defeat a kid who qualified for nationals is huge for me. For the team, it keeps us rolling and keeps us on track for NC State and Duke. We are going to try to get three in a row here.”
Maryland will travel to Washington, D.C. Sunday at 1 p.m. to take on No. 11 American before heading further south to Tobacco Road next weekend to square off against the Wolfpack and Blue Devils.
Results:
125- Matt Snyder (UVA) major dec. Pat Strizki, 10-2 (0-4)
133- Lou Ruland (MD) fall over Joe Spisak, 1:31 (6-4)
141- No. 16 Jon Kohler (MD) dec. Dave Ebbott, 9-3 (9-4)
149- Derek Valenti (UVA) dec. Ben Dorsay, 3-1 SV (9-7)
157- No. 14 Kyle John (MD) dec. Shawn Harris, 9-3 (12-7)
165- No. 3 Josh Asper (MD) dec. Jedd Moore, 6-2 (15-7)
174- No. 4 Chris Henrich (UVA) dec. No. 19 Mike Letts, 3-2 (15-10)
184- No. 18 Jon Fausey (UVA) dec. Corey Peltier, 5-3 (15-13)
197- Stephen Doty (UVA) dec. Dallas Brown, 5-2 (15-16)
HWT- Spencer Myers (MD) major dec. Jack Danilkowicz, 8-0 (19-16)
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