College Wrestling
#23 University of Maryland 42, Rider University 6

COLLEGE PARK, Md.?The Broncs lost a dual at 23^rd ranked Maryland (6-3) on Saturday afternoon.  “Maryland has a very tough team,” said head coach Gary Taylor.  “We had quite a few wrestlers out today that we will have back for the second semester.”

For Rider (0-3), sophomore 157 Rob Morrison (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) won by fall over Brian Letters at the 4:43 mark.  Sophomore 141 Fred Rodgers (Perkiomenville, Pa./Boyertown) lost 4-2 to Jon Kohler and junior 184 Doug Umbehauer (Shamong, N.J./Lenape) lost 2-1 to 20^th ranked Josh Haines.

“I still have a lot to work on but I was able to get on top today and do what I do best,” said Morrison who evened his record at 5-5.  Morrison is coming off a second place finish at the Keystone Classic.  “The team results have been a little frustrating but it is still early.”

This was the third loss to a ranked opponent for the Broncs this season with 6^th ranked Missouri and 2^nd ranked Iowa State defeating Rider in November.  Maryland recently defeated Michigan which went on to win the prestigious 48-team Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

“We schedule to prepare both for the conference and nationals,” said Taylor.  “It's a tough schedule and a tough thing to go through.  The wrestlers have to determine how much they get out of it but I think it gives them a realistic view of how tough it is to get to and compete in the NCAA National Tournament.  It has been proven in the past that this type of competition gets us ready for the conference championships and also the NCAA's.”

“We still have three months to go before CAA's and nationals,” Morrison added.  “I just have to keep working on my mistakes, make the adjustments and prepare for March.  To be able to wrestle kids of this caliber gives us an advantage down the line going into some of the tournaments.  You are going to face kids that haven't faced nearly the competition that we have and it's a little edge that we can keep in our back pocket and see where we stand overall in the nation.”

The Broncs are now 3-5 all-time against the Terps with Maryland winning the last two duals in the series.  Maryland defeated Rider last season 25-16 in Alumni Gym.

The Broncs begin the second semester of competition at the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern University December 29-30.

“It's been harder this season because we are younger and haven't had the full team in yet but we will have everyone back for the second semester and we'll see what happens,” Taylor added.

-RU-

Maryland 42, Rider 6
125 - Brendan Byrne (MD) fall over Mitch Fenton,                   5:32                 (6-0)
133 - Steven Bell (MD) major dec. Dustin Renelt,                     16-4                (10-0)
141 - Jon Kohler (MD) dec. Fred Rodgers,                              4-2                  (13-0)
149 - No. 17 Eric Medina (MD) fall over No. 14 Don Fisch,    4:52                 (19-0)
157 - Rob Morrison (RU) fall over Brian Letters,                      4:43                 (19-6)
165 - Mike McGill (MD) tech. fall Mike Darling,                      19-3/6:25         (24-6)
174 - No. 8 Mike Letts (MD) wins by forfeit                                                    (30-6)
184 - No. 20 Josh Haines (MD) dec. No. 10 Doug Umbehauer, 2-1                (33-6)
197 - No. 10 Hudson Taylor wins by forfeit                                                      (39-6)
HWT - Patrick Gilmore (MD) dec. Peter Reid,                         4-0                   (42-6)