Entering Sunday’s dual meet against Michigan State, Maryland’s 141-pounder Michael Doetsch was winless in his dual career and had been outscored by a combined 48-10.
After a pin and technical fall slipped the Terps into an early 11-0 hole against the Spartans, Doetsch stepped in with little expectation.
But following a double-overtime thriller, Doetsch raised his hand in victory for the first time in his Maryland dual career.
“There were a bunch of times in that match where he could’ve given up,” coach Kerry 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.”
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Doetsch started off strong, capturing a takedown and being awarded a penalty point via a technical violation on Michigan State’s Austin Eicher. But after Doetsch secured a 3-0 lead in the first period, Eicher fought back to tie the score entering the third frame.
Doetsch went for broke late in the third period and tried to end the match with a risky highlight reel throw, but it backfired and Eicher nearly stole a late takedown for himself. Doetsch fought back, and, with the crowd behind him, forced overtime.
In sudden-death overtime, Doetsch and Eicher proved equal still and needed another extra period to settle their bout. With double overtime deciding a victor via switching top and bottom positions, Doetsch did his job by riding Eicher out for the entire 30 seconds. When Eicher tried to do the same, Doetsch slipped his leg out and escaped, securing his first dual victory in the process.
With the Xfinity Pavilion crowd in a frenzy, Doetsch gave the home fans a big fist pump as he ran off the mat.
“It’s big for me,” Doetsch said with a wide smile. “It’s my first dual win in my career here so far, and I’m pumped for that.”
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The redshirt sophomore has had big shoes to fill while replacing injured 2018 NCAA qualifier Ryan Diehl, who finished the 2017-18 season as the No. 16 141-pounder in the nation. But after struggling at the start of the year, Doetsch is finally ready to let loose.
“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.”
Captains 149-pounder Alfred Bannister and No. 6 heavyweight Youssif Hemida, remain constants in the Maryland lineup with both securing victories against the Spartans. Doetsch has taken notice of their consistency and leadership, and he credits it with him getting his first dual win.
“I think them winning as often as they do is giving us confidence,” Doetsch said. “We’re improving and it showed today, at least for me.”
The Terps are hopeful that their improvement could eventually lead to their first win of the season, but the schedule doesn’t get any easier, with three of their next four duals coming against top-10 opponents.
Even so, McCoy knows how valuable each earned point is for a wrestler’s confidence — especially for someone like Doetsch, who hadn’t found much success until Sunday. He praised Doetsch’s new mindset and hopes that other wrestlers adopt something similar.
“We tell these guys every week that this is not rocket science,” McCoy said. “It’s wrestling. Most of these guys have been doing this for a long time. The idea for everybody is that if you’re having fun, it’ll be more enjoyable and if you’re enjoying it more you’ll probably have more success.”
