Coach Kerry McCoy repeated what he has been saying all season: The Maryland wrestling team suffers from small mistakes that shift the momentum in matches. His team again rued missed opportunities in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Friday night.
The Terps fell to the No. 16 Wolverines, 25-16.
“We made a couple of mistakes in some critical situations,” McCoy said. “Even the matches that were bad, if they stayed the same and we made a little bit of adjustment, it could have been a different result.”
After the match, McCoy told his team it had to capitalize on the opportunities. He said the Terps had a chance to take down one of the top teams in the country, and, barring the mistakes, his team was “right there.”
After all, after Michigan jumped out to an 11-0 lead after three bouts, a pin from 285-pounder Youssif Hemida and a Wolverines forfeit in the 125-pound class helped McCoy’s team take a 12-11 lead.
Maryland fell behind 17-12, but a major decision for Alfred Bannister at 149 pounds allowed the Terps to narrow the gap to one point. However, with Michigan boasting No. 10 Brian Murphy and No. 2 Logan Massa in the 157-and 165-pound classes, respectively, the Terps could not gain any ground in the final two bouts.
Hemida agreed with what McCoy saw — the chance to win, foiled by small failures.
“We had a lead after the first five matches, which was good,” Hemida said. “In this match, little adjustments could have made a big difference.”
Hemida said those small changes don’t necessarily make the difference between winning and losing an individual match. They can be the point separating a regular decision from a major decision, and those bonus points add up.
McCoy shares the same belief. He said the emphasis of winning and losing shouldn’t be on the individuals, rather on winning the dual meet as a team. Once the group understands that, McCoy believes their fortunes could change.
“That’s going to make a difference,” the coach said. “Once the overall idea is that we’re not just going out there for ourselves — we’re going out there for the team, for the program, for friends and family — that would be a big step for us.”
Despite the loss, the Terps received positive contributions through a few of their grapplers. Hemida won his fifth straight dual match, improving to 6-4 on the season. Meanwhile, Bannister, ranked No. 15 by InterMat Wrestling, is 10-0 after his victory.
“Look at the guys that are performing,” McCoy said. “Youssif got a big win, Bannister got a win, and those are the guys that have been putting in some good work.”
While the Terps are pleased with the individual achievements, McCoy maintained securing the team win has to be the priority. He does not want to continue to ask “What if?” because of missed chances.
“It’s encouraging to know that we were that close, but we don’t want to be saying this all year,” McCoy said. “Every time we get an opportunity, we’ve got to take advantage of it.”
