Opportunity was knocking for some lucky Terrapins wrestlers at Senior Night yesterday and, according to coach Kerry McCoy, they answered the door.
The Terps defeated Duke, 22-12, yesterday afternoon at Comcast Pavilion, with the victory sealing a three-way share of the ACC title with Virginia Tech and Virginia.
Featuring a nontraditional lineup made up of a number of seniors who haven’t had many opportunities this season, the No. 11 Terps (14-1, 4-1 ACC) managed to out-wrestle the unranked Blue Devils (3-7, 0-4 ACC) in the last home dual meet for several team members.
Senior Joey Boone recorded his first victory all season yesterday in his first match since last year. After missing months of action due to an MCL tear in his knee, he recorded a 7-6 decision over Blue Devil Brandon Gambucci (18-9) at 133 pounds.
“I haven’t really had the chance to wrestle because my knee’s been hurt so bad, but I’m really happy and I’m really proud that I got to have one last shot to wrestle a match for the Terps,” said Boone, who left his sneakers alone in the center of the mat after the dual — a gesture usually performed by retiring wrestlers. “I’m really glad that everybody got a chance to show that we’re part of the program.”
Wins like Boone’s serve as a testament to the strength of and deep talent pool on the Terps’ roster, McCoy said.
“It shows that we have depth in our program, and to be able to have our second- or third-team guys get into the rotation and get wins, it just shows where we are in the program,” McCoy said.
Boone’s win, McCoy added, proved a huge contribution to the team’s victory yesterday afternoon.
“It’s great for him to go out that way and he really set the tone for the match,” McCoy said. “After losing the first match, if we lose that second match, the ball could get rolling. So, him winning that match helped us get going as a team.”
Ben Dorsey, Kyle John, Owen Smith, Christian Boley and Ryan Grey also recorded victories for the Terps, with Boley’s major decision at 197 pounds clinching the win that sealed the three-way ACC title.
“It’s great to be the champs. That’s something that we’re proud about, and it’s just building momentum,” McCoy said. “It’s obviously better than not being the regular-season champs, but a three-way tie is not what we wanted. Our expectation was to win outright, but Virginia and Virginia Tech have been in the hunt every year.”
The Terps will face George Mason in Fairfax, Va., on Thursday in their last regular-season match before the March 3 ACC Championships.
The lineup will likely return to normal then, with those who have been wrestling all season back in their singlets, but Boone said there are no hard feelings.
“There’s no bad blood,” Boone said of his friend and teammate Geoffrey Alexander, who has wrestled in Boone’s weight class all season. “I wanted to wrestle, but Geoff wrestled great all year and I’m really happy he got an opportunity to wrestle. I’m just really proud of everybody.”
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