NEW YORK — It all happened so quickly.
Geoffrey Alexander, the Terrapins 133-pound wrestler, was in sudden victory against Jamal Morris of N.C. State in the NCAA Tournament on Friday. The loser would be headed home.
As the two scrambled at the base of the light blue NCAA logo at the center of the mat, Morris grabbed onto Alexander’s hips and gained control. With Morris notching the takedown, the referee shot his arm into the air, signaling not only Morris’ victory, but the end of Alexander’s college career.
All Alexander could do was lay on the mat in dejection —his wrestling career over after 18 years.
“It’s tough. I won’t compete again,” Alexander said as he choked up. “I just tried to enjoy the moment as much as I could. It’s a tough moment. A tough loss.”
No. 14-seed Alexander fell to Morris, 10-8, to end his run at the NCAA Tournament this year with a 1-2 record as the Terps’ lone competitor in the field. After defeating MAC Champion Austin Eicher in his first bout yesterday, Alexander fell to No. 3-seed Zane Richards, 10-5, in the nightcap.
With his performance this year at the tournament, the redshirt senior ends his career with a 4-8 record at the event, failing to place on the podium in all four trips.
Morris jumped on Alexander early in the match, notching a takedown within the first ten seconds, something coach Kerry McCoy attributed to Morris’ unexpected knee pick.
“He caught me off guard right there at the beginning,” Alexander said.
From there, Alexander was able to rebound, notching numerous takedowns and sticking close to Morris. Still, the Pittsburgh native entered the third period trailing Morris 8-7 with his career on the line.
While being on top hasn’t been Alexander’s strength throughout the season, he was able to ride Morris for nearly the entire third period, securing the valuable extra point to tie the match.
As the two scrapped in extra time, Morris got Alexander in an uncomfortable position. Alexander tried to wrestle out of it, but a momentary lapse ended up costing him.
“I just let up for a second and he was able to capitalize on it with his long reach,” Alexander said.
Thursday, McCoy gave Alexander a pep talk after his loss to Richards, but this time around the eighth-year coach decided to simply hug his pupil and give him a pat on the back.
“It’s a somber time,” McCoy said. “We’ll talk about it later.”
While McCoy chose to delay his meeting with Alexander, many others offered support. Alexander said he got to his phone after the match and had “a ton” of messages from current and former teammates, coaches, and his family.
Despite his career ending in a loss in sudden victory, Alexander looked back on his career with few regrets.
“I’m just blessed to be in this position,” Alexander said. “I did what I could over my five years and no one can take from me.”
