Lucas Cordio entered his 157-pound bout against No. 12 Will Lewan of Michigan, hoping for a big upset on Friday night.
Maryland wrestling already trailed 14-0 in the match at that point, and a win would’ve helped to close a big gap with the aim for big results from the heavyweights. Cordio, replacing normal starter Jahi Jones after he was suspected for a post-match altercation against Rider last Saturday in the Virginia Duals, prepared for his third-straight dual.
However, Lewan was a mismatch for Cordio, who was dominated from the start as Lewan recorded a 19-4 technical fall. From there, the Wolverines cruised to an 34-3 dual win in the Terps’ second Big Ten meet of the season.
[Read more: As other NCAA programs stick with singlets, Maryland wrestling is in a league of its own]
As has been the case for much of this year, Maryland’s underweights struggled to start the match, beginning with Brandon Cray. The 125-pounder entered after his first dual win this season at the Virginia Duals.
He was one of two Terps who narrowly avoided a technical fall loss within the first four bouts of the dual, losing a 16-2 major decision to Jack Medley.
Bonus point losses also plagued Maryland on Friday, giving up four of them, including Cordio’s technical fall.
King Sandoval nearly pulled off a win in his 133-pound bout against Joey Silva. An escape with about a minute left in the third period closed the deficit to 3-2, but Sandoval couldn’t pull off a takedown, losing a 3-2 decision.
[Read more: Maryland wrestling goes 0-3 on the day, places sixth at Virginia Duals]
The second near-technical loss came against 141-pounder Hunter Baxter, who Cole Mattin nearly blanked. Baxter trailed 10-0 going into the third period, eventually losing a 15-2 major decision as Maryland went down 11-0 in the match.
There was a glimmer of hope as 149-pounder Michael Doetsch had No. 9 Kanen Storr in a 2-2 battle going into the third period of their match, but Storr would separate, winning a 5-3 decision.
Cordio’s technical fall was Maryland’s fifth-straight bout loss of the dual going into the intermission.
165-pounder Kyle Cochran has been Maryland’s most successful wrestler in recent weeks, going 4-0 in the Virginia Duals. But on Friday against Tyler Meisinger, who was 0-2 in duals coming into the meet, Meisinger was on the offensive from the start of the dual.
Cochran was forced to the comeback trail, down 10-2 after the first period. He held Meisinger to just two points the rest of the bout, but the eight-point deficit was too much in the closing seconds, losing a 12-9 decision as Maryland dropped its first six matchups in the dual.
The Terps avoided a shutout in No. 23 Philip Spadafora’s 174-pound bout with Max Maylor, who led 3-1 going into the third period. Spadafora, who started the period in the down position, got an escape to close the deficit to 3-2.
In the neutral position, Spadafora was on the offensive and threw Maylor over his back for an easy takedown, taking a 5-3 decision with riding time.
While the Terps were down too much by that point, 22-3, there were still three bouts left, starting with 184-pounder Kyle Jasenski. He had a tough task against No. 17 Jelani Embree, who outscored him 4-1 in the third period for a comfortable 8-3 decision victory.
Jaron Smith had a good opportunity against 197-pounder Jackson Striggow, and he had over two minutes of riding time and a 2-0 lead through the first period, but Striggow landed two takedowns, coming away with a 4-2 decision.
Heavyweight Parker Robinson ended the dual for Maryland, but against No. 2 Mason Harris he was no match, getting pinned in 3:40. Now, the Terps’ eyes are set on with a battle against Michigan State on Sunday.
