Maryland wrestling ends regular season with close losses to Rider and Drexel

Maryland wrestling took a trip to the Philadelphia area on Saturday to face Rider and Drexel in away meets. The Terps came up empty-handed on the day, losing to the Broncs 23-20 and Dragons 20-12.

Maryland started out at a disadvantage as Alfred Bannister was unavailable yet again for Saturday’s matches, forcing Ryan Diehl to wrestle in his place.

The closer of the two came against Rider. The Terps took what looked like a commanding 15-3 lead after the 149-pound class, as Diehl and Adam Whitesell got two consecutive pins.

However, the Broncs took the next five matches consecutively, including two pins at the 165- and 184-pound classes. Rider rattled off 20 straight team points, which put them over the hump, though Maryland heavyweight Youssif Hemida won his match by forfeit. The points came too late for the Terps.

The latter meet against Drexel was close in the beginning, but the Dragons separated themselves from the Terps by match end. After trading off points in the first five weight classes, with Maryland up 9-7 at the time, Drexel rattled off four straight match victories, clinching the overall meet win for the Dragons.

To end the meet, Hemida upset No. 17 Joey Goodhart in sudden victory. He, along with Diehl, won both of his dual meet matches on the day, a good sign for the Terps moving forward for next season and for the postseason.

Hemida now has won 11 out of his last 14 dual meet matches overall, and Diehl ended his season with an above .500 record in dual meets with the two wins on Saturday.

Maryland new goes into the postseason, starting with the National Collegiate Open in Dover, Delaware on Feb. 26, where the Terps will send their younger, less experienced wrestlers.

The Terps will then send their best to the Big Ten Championships at Indiana on March 4 and 5.