Even amid a winless dual season, the Maryland wrestling team has found stability somewhere other than the loss column.

Injuries and a lack of overall consistency have plagued the team from the beginning, but 149-pounder Alfred Bannister and heavyweight Youssif Hemida remain standouts for the Terps — even if their national rankings don’t reflect that.

In the FloWrestling preseason rankings, both Bannister and Hemida were in the top 20 rankings. Since then, Hemida has dropped from No. 3 to No. 8 despite going undefeated in duals while Bannister has dropped from No. 18 to out of the rankings entirely with a 4-2 dual record.

In the Terps’ first three Big Ten dual meets, the duo accounted for five of the team’s six individual wins — even as Maryland was outscored 101-19 during the stretch.

The snubbing of the senior captains has not gone unnoticed by those inside the program.

“It’s frustrating,” said coach Kerry McCoy. “It’d be nice for the guys to be recognized, but at the end of the day, I don’t care where you’re ranked in January or February. I care where you’re ranked in March.”

[Read more: Despite season-high point total, Maryland wrestling loses to Michigan State, 28-12]

Hemida, a 2018 All-American, has often won in close fashion this season, but he’s taken care of business in all four of his dual matchups.

While the senior can’t pinpoint the reason for his fall in the rankings, he knows his continued consistency is all that matters.

“I don’t know if they have something against me or Maryland or what,” Hemida said. “It’s frustrating but at the same time, screw it. It doesn’t matter.”

Bannister expressed a similar sentiment. Even after being ranked at the end of last season and the beginning of this season, he’d be fine with maintaining an underdog status.

“I hope they don’t recognize me,” Bannister said. “I hope they let me slip right under the radar.”

[Read more: A new mindset got Michael Doetsch his first dual win for Maryland wrestling]

While McCoy was dismayed by the perceived disrespect to his stars, he believes the pair’s best wrestling still lies ahead.

Maryland’s schedule only gets tougher from here on out, with each of the team’s next four duals against ranked opponents — three of whom are in the top 10. But McCoy has lofty expectations for Bannister and hopes he’ll will improve as the season progresses.

“I still don’t think he’s wrestled to his full potential in any of his matches,” McCoy said. “I think he’s getting there and when he gets to that point, I think he’s going to be pretty dangerous.”

Hemida has seen the most individual success so far this season for the Terps, going 4-0 in duals and 8-1 overall. But the Mamaroneck, New York native has had to sweat out a few of his dual matches — and that doesn’t sit well with him.

“I haven’t been too satisfied with any of my wins this season,” Hemida said. “I win, but I always seem to leave the mat with a bitter taste in my mouth thinking, ‘Damn, I should’ve taken that guy down more or maybe even pinned him’ because I really want to dominate my opponents.”

Hemida has a theory about why the rankings might be working against him but he doesn’t think that it’s because of his close matches.

“At the end of the day, those people that make those rankings try to sell it to spectators and to those who are the big-name schools,” Hemida said. “They try to put the best wrestlers, but sometimes they get caught up in the wrestlers they like.”

Like his coach, Hemida knows that once the dust settles at the NCAA tournaments, the rankings don’t matter.

“At the end of the day, the best wrestler will come out,” he said. “So we’ll see how true the rankings are in March.”