After spending the week of practice working on scoring points, Terrapin 149-pounder Jon Kohler found himself needing to implement the team’s new focus just to save his match.
Before Friday’s match against George Mason, McCoy wasn’t concerned about how some of his starters would fare having spent the weekend prior watching from the stands. But after resting during the team’s Jan. 23 dual meet, Kohler seemed overeager and rusty as he allowed the Patriots’ Brandon Bucher to jump out to a 7-0 lead as the first period drew to a close.
But as the match wore on, the more experienced and talented Kohler used his superior technique and a few newly honed offensive moves to eventually claw past Bucher, 11-9. Kohler’s victory was just icing on the cake as the No. 10 Terps (16-4, 3-0 ACC) rolled, 35-6, in Fairfax, Va.
But the match was a great example of why McCoy had spent the past week emphasizing a more aggressive offensive approach.
“Sometimes, when guys get down that much they try too hard to get all the points back at once,” McCoy said. “We just talked with him about settling down, working to score one point at a time, and he picked the best opportunities to score, just like we were talking about in practice.”
In previous matches in which the Terps entered as the prohibitive favorite, McCoy had expressed displeasure in the fact his team started slowly without a lot of energy.
On Friday, McCoy had no such complaint. The Terps won their first six decisions and nine out of 10 overall. The Patriots (3-8, 1-4 CAA) have now lost four straight and six of their last seven.
Kohler wasn’t the only wrestler returning from a weekend of rest; 133-pounder Steve Bell showed no ill effects, scoring two takedowns in the last minute en route to a major decision victory. Matt Bogusz (141 pounds), subbing for the banged-up Alex Krom for the second straight week, won by major decision as well.
The Terps now get their first extended homestand of the season as they play three straight at Comcast Center Pavilion. The schedule will also get significantly more competitive, starting next week when No. 15 Virginia Tech comes to College Park in what McCoy called the “most important match of the year.”
Despite the final score, McCoy made sure to give the Patriots credit for the way they fought the Terps every step of the way. Although Friday’s matches weren’t as important as many the Terps will have this season, McCoy liked the way the Terps competed.
“If this had been an easy win for us, we might not have learned as much,” McCoy said. “[George Mason] worked hard and never gave up, and I would rather have it that way. We now know how hard we are going to need to work for the rest of the season.”
lemaire@umdbk.com
