When 125-pounder Brandon Cray took down No. 8 Rayvon Foley to take an early 2-0 lead in the opening match, it looked as if the Maryland wrestling team could put together a performance it hasn’t managed to achieve this season.
However, it didn’t take long for the team to revert back to what has plagued it all campaign.
The energy inside Xfinity Pavilion on Sunday was quickly sapped after Foley escaped and countered with a takedown of his own. Following several more takedowns and throws, Foley won by technical fall, 17-2.
The Terps (0-7, 0-4 Big Ten) never recovered and lost to the Spartans (5-6, 2-4), 28-12, remaining winless in dual meets this year despite scoring their highest point total so far.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” coach Kerry McCoy said. “I think we’re getting better. It just takes time.”
After Cray lost by technical fall and 133-pounder Orion Anderson lost by pinfall, Maryland found itself in a familiar early hole.
Filling in for 141-pounder and 2018 NCAA qualifier Ryan Diehl, Michael Doetsch stepped up for the Terps. After Doetsch secured an early 3-0 lead, Michigan State’s Austin Eicher fought back and tied the match at 3-3.
The two went to overtime where Doetsch nearly pulled off a highlight reel takedown to steal the victory but Eicher managed to hold on. In double overtime ride-outs, Doetsch rode Eicher out for the first thirty seconds but Eicher couldn’t match.
Doetsch escaped Eicher’s clutches and not only scored Maryland’s first team points of the dual, but picked up his first-ever Big Ten win.
“It’s big for me,” Doetsch said. “It’s my first dual win in my career here so far and I’m pumped for that.”
Having struggled for much of the season, Doetsch knew he needed a mindset change — and his win on Sunday showed it may be working.
“A big thing that I’m working on changing is just having fun,” he said. “It’s a wrestling match, it’s a sport. No one’s going to hate me if I lose or don’t perform as well I should. I’m just going out there, having that mindset and doing what I do.”
McCoy was happy for the Severn, Maryland native, knowing that this could be the first of many dual victories for him.
“They were a bunch of times in that match where he could’ve given up,” McCoy said. “He’s been plugging and plugging and it was nice for him. He’s making progress and he just needs to keep believing.”
For the first time all season, the Terps began to build momentum as 149-pounder Alfred Bannister dispatched Michigan State’s Jaden Enriquez by a score of 9-4. It marked the first time all season Maryland had won back-to-back dual matches.
The party was short-lived, though, as 157-pounder Jahi Jones — filling in for the injured Adam Whitesell — couldn’t muster enough offense to complete his comeback against Michigan State’s Jake Tucker, ultimately losing 8-4.
Coming out of intermission, 165-pounder Philip Spadafora got the Terps back on the winning track, manhandling the Spartans’ Logan Ritchie by repeatedly slamming him on his head. Michigan State’s coaches took issue with the move and challenged the series. But Spadafora’s attempts were deemed legal, and he continued to dump Ritchie en route to a 6-3 victory.
“When you stand up five or six times and every time you get put on your head, it messes with someone’s head,” Spadafora said. “Then they start wrestling with anger instead of trying to keep it technical. That’s when they make mistakes.”
The victory put Maryland in uncharted waters as it pulled within five team points going into the heavier weights. But it was as close as the Terps would get.
174-pounder Josh Ugalde returned from a hamstring injury but was quickly taken down before he found himself on his back and ultimately suffered a loss by pinfall. Afterward, Ugalde stayed down on the mat, favoring his left shoulder.
Both 184-pounder Kyle Jasenski and 197-pounder Niko Cappello subsequently lost by major decisions.
As usual, the dual ended on a high note for the Terps as No. 6 ranked heavyweight Youssif Hemida won his bout, albeit in close fashion, over Michigan State’s Chase Beard. The match ended with some fireworks as Beard took umbrage with one of Hemida’s late throws.
McCoy knows that Hemida’s road will get much tougher with perennial Big Ten powers such as Iowa, Rutgers, Michigan and Minnesota left on the schedule, but isn’t too concerned about his victories not coming in blowout fashion.
“I’d rather him win every match by a point and be the national champ then win some by twenty points and not place,” McCoy said. “The goal is to go out there and get your hand raised.”
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story misspelled Austin Eicher’s name. This article has been updated.
