Entering Maryland wrestling’s dual meet against George Mason on Sunday, No. 9-heavyweight Youssif Hemida’s frustration had reached its peak.
Hemida was searching for his first win since taking down Michigan State’s Chase Beard on Jan. 27, and the All-American was less than pleased with his performances during his four-match losing streak, coinciding with the Terps’ 11-match losing streak.
But against No. 15 Matt Voss this weekend, Hemida finally scored a takedown when he needed it most, ending his rut and capping the Terps’ first dual win of the season with emphatic style.
“I’ve been really frustrated and down on myself,” Hemida said. “Not getting a takedown in the last four matches. …To win by takedown feels pretty good.”
[Read more: Maryland wrestling dominates George Mason, 26-12, for first dual win]
Hemida’s losing streak started against Wisconsin, when he lost 4-2 to No. 8 Trent Hillger. The highly touted Terp followed that up with a 1-0 loss to Iowa’s No. 6 Sam Stoll, a 7-4 loss to Minnesota’s No. 1 Gable Steveson and a 6-2 loss to Michigan’s No. 7 Mason Parris.
Being so tantalizingly close against top opposition made those losses that much harder for Hemida to deal with.
“[Hemida] is his own worst critic,” coach Kerry McCoy said. “He did good things in those matches and he just needs to finish them.”
[Read more: Maryland wrestling has “a great chance” at its first dual win this weekend]
After another painstakingly close loss to Michigan Friday night, Hemida stepped in ready to exorcise his demons as he took on Voss.
The two heavyweights were evenly matched in the first period but a couple of key sprawls by Hemida kept the match close heading into the second.
Hemida managed to escape from Voss during the slow second period and took a 1-0 lead heading into the final period. After a Voss escape, Hemida once again found himself looking for that elusive takedown.
With 17 seconds remaining and the match tied, Hemida went for a takedown but it backfired when Hemida locked onto Voss’ leg. But the Patriot countered and threw him down. Even so, after a hectic few seconds, the final horn sounded and Hemida had survived with the match still knotted.
After the match, Hemida admitted he wasn’t sure if the referee awarded Voss the winning points in the period’s closing moments.
“He flipped me over and I was like, ‘Oh shoot, I’m on my back,’” Hemida said. “So I roll off my back and looked over wondering if he had just scored on me. Thank god, there was no score.”
The overtime period started, and Hemida began to press the issue and attack Voss. After a few failed attempts, Hemida finally latched onto Voss’ leg and didn’t let go to secure the victory.
The win snapped Hemida’s losing streak and closed out Maryland’s first dual win of the season. But Hemida isn’t satisfied, knowing that he needs to be better when he possibly faces Hillger, Steveson, Stoll and Parris again in postseason play.
“I’ve got to pick it up now,” Hemida said. “We’ve got Rutgers and Rider coming up along with Big Tens and nationals, so there’s not much room for losing.”
