NEW YORK — Terrapins wrestling 133-pound Geoffrey Alexander entered the Madison Square Garden floor from the corner entrance. With his coaches in front of him and his headgear wrapped around his ears, the redshirt senior looked up. He had wrestled at the NCAA Tournament before, and he had wrestled at MSG before.
But Thursday, the two grand stages collided.
“Just looking up and seeing everyone, I can’t even describe it,” Alexander said. “When I get out there on the mat, I look up right before my match and think about where I’ve been and what I’ve done to get to this stage in my career.”
On the first day of the three-day event, No. 14-seed Alexander went 1-1. He defeated MAC champion Austin Eicher, 7-3 in the first round before falling, 10-5, to No. 3-seed Zane Richards.
When Alexander stepped off the mat after his second bout, McCoy was there to console him.
“I told him he could be upset about this for a little time, be mad for a little bit,” McCoy said. “Yeah, you should be upset about it because you wrestled really well today… But you have to focus on the next one.”
Alexander will have to win three more matches to be an All-American and four more to place on the podium. In the consolation bracket, Alexander will begin by wrestling North Carolina State’s Jamal Morris on Friday.
He started off his first match with a takedown of Eicher, giving him a 2-0 lead heading into the next period. After an extended break in the second period due the two grapplers knocking heads, Alexander notched a takedown and collected riding time to end the period and build an insurmountable lead.
“He wrestled really well,” McCoy said. “We had a game plan and he stuck to it. [Geoff] does a few things really well when guys get to his legs, he’s able to wrestle out of it. “
The victory marked Alexander’s 100th career victory for the Terps.
After the win, the redshirt senior had around another seven hours before his bout against Richards. Over the course of the break, Alexander rehydrated and stretched out his previously injured neck and shoulder.
Later, he relaxed by watching Two and a Half Men before taking a quick nap.
He woke up to a tough task.
Not only did Richards enter the match-up 24-1, but he had beaten Alexander twice in their only previous meetings.
Alexander quickly registered a takedown in the opening seconds. Sequence after sequence of scrambles ensued until Alexander was hit with a stall call just into the third period, providing Richards a 5-4 lead he would never relinquish.
“Personally I think I was taking all the shots in the match, so I don’t know what that call was about,” Alexander. “It was a little frustrating, but I kept trying to fight.”
McCoy agreed.
“Some interesting calls by the officials in that match that made a difference,” McCoy said. “When the referee can dictate a match like that it’s really tough. That stall call made the biggest difference in the match.”
So despite failing in his third attempt to overtake Richards, Alexander isn’t disappointed. With a chance to place still in front of him, the Pittsburgh native believes he can achieve his ultimate goal Friday.
“My head is still up high,” Alexander said. “Win or lose that’s not the issue, it’s just me going out there and wrestling and having fun going 100 percent all the time.”
