King Sandoval and Garrett Pepple were locked in a scoreless bout entering the third period of their matchup Sunday.
Sandoval, Maryland wrestling’s 133-pounder, had close to 30 seconds of riding time. He needed anything to get ahead in the matchup, though, so with around 90 seconds left, Sandoval started to make his move and in a mad scramble between the two wrestlers, he secured his takedown.
But Pepple ensured that takedown wouldn’t spell the end of his bout. After an escape, Pepple secured a reversal and rode out the match on top to take a 3-2 decision, putting Michigan State (5-5, 1-3 Big Ten) up 6-0 on its way to a 36-0 shutout over Maryland (2-9, 0-3 Big Ten). It was the Terps’ first shutout loss since Feb. 10, 2019, a 45-0 loss at No. 7 Minnesota.
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Sandoval and 125-pounder Brandon Cray both fell victim to late charges from the Spartans, losing one-point decision to open the match.
Maryland’s struggles with the lightweights continued, losing at least three of its first five dual bouts for the seventh time in its last eight matches. The team’s Big Ten woes continued as well, having lost the first six bouts of their second-straight conference dual after Friday’s blowout loss at Michigan.
After Jahi Jones’s disqualification and altercation in his match at the Virginia Duals last Saturday, the Terps have rotated their lineup at the 157-pound class. Jones didn’t travel with the team this weekend and as a result, Lucas Cordio has wrestled in his place in Maryland’s last four duals.
[Read more: Maryland wrestling avoids shutout in 34-3 dual meet loss to Michigan]
Cordio, facing No. 18 Jake Tucker on Sunday, couldn’t get anything going as Tucker toyed with him the entire bout on his way to a 18-3 tech fall, one of three bonus-point losses for Maryland in the dual.
Kyle Jasenski and Parker Robinson were the other two. Jasenski was pinned in the second period of his 184-pound bout against No. 20 Cameron Caffey and the heavyweight Robinson lost a 14-6 major decision to Christian Rebottaro.
The Terps’ only ranked wrestler, No. 23 Philip Spadafora, was out-wrestled in his 174-pound matchup with redshirt freshman Layne Malczewski, losing a 3-0 decision. He had a chance in the final minute for a takedown, but Malczewski held his ground and secured riding time with 20 seconds left in the third period.
Maryland’s best shot of getting points on the board was 197-pounder Jaron Smith, who was very active at the start of his bout against Nick May. But like Malczewski, May fought his opponent off on his way to a 4-0 decision victory.
A snowy day in East Lansing might have been the cause of some technical difficulties in the last bout of the dual. The scoreboard went dark, much like the Terps did in a battle of winless Big Ten programs.
The Terps return to College Park next weekend, starting with No. 14 Purdue on Friday night and Indiana on Saturday, the latter Maryland’s best opportunity to break its conference dual losing streak this season.
