Maryland 46 Princeton 3

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Thanks to four pins and two forfeits, the University of Maryland wrestling team needed less than an hour to knock off the visiting Princeton Tigers, 46-3, Sunday afternoon in the Terrapins' first home dual of the season.
With the victory, Maryland improved to 3-4-1 on the season, while Princeton fell to 2-6.
"This was great. The guys went out there and had a fire underneath them to go out and perform," Maryland head coach Kerry McCoy said. "I was happy the way they went out there. They fought hard. Some of the things we worked on during the week showed today. It was a good overall performance and I'm glad it went the way it did."
The Terrapins led 12-0 before any wrestling took place, as the Tigers forfeited the 197 and heavyweight matches, giving victories to No. 7 Hudson Taylor and Patrick Gilmore, respectively.
Sophomore Lou Ruland got the Terps off to a good start at 125 pounds. Ruland notched an early takedown and a three-point near fall to grab a 5-0 lead against Robert Benitez. Ruland then got Benitez on his back late in the first period and completed a pin with only one second remaining in the period, giving the Terps an 18-0 lead.
Junior Steven Bell, ranked ninth in the nation, followed Ruland's lead, easily dispatching of Nikhil Pereira, winning by fall in 2:03 to give Maryland another six points. Redshirt junior Alex Krom, the 18th-ranked wrestler in the country, was not to be out-done in the 141-pound tilt, recording the Terps' third straight first-period pin, dropping Daniel Kolodzik in 2:10 for a 30-0 Maryland lead.
After two forfeits and three quick pins, the 149-pound match went the distance.
Princeton's Danny Scotton led Steve Fehnel 3-1 through the first two periods. However, Fehnel earned an escape to get within one point and then took the lead with a takedown with 1:10 remaining in the match. Scotton earned an escape of his own with less than a minute left and the match went to a sudden victory session, as riding time was not a factor.
Fehnel finally earned the win with a takedown 48 seconds into the first sudden victory period.
"That was huge. Steve was a little bit banged up this week and he didn't wrestle live at all during the week," McCoy said. "For him to suck it up and get that win was huge. It was huge for him and also for the other guys to keep that momentum rolling."
Redshirt freshman Kyle John earned another pin for the Terps at 157 pounds, taking out Marty Everin in 4:30.
Sophomore Brian Letters followed John with a 10-2 major decision at 165 pounds and freshman Corey Peltier won an 11-4 decision at 174 pounds to put the Terps up 46-0 heading into the final match of the day at 184 pounds.
Princeton's Kurt Brendel helped the Tigers avoid the shutout, beating freshman Owen Smith, 5-1.
Due to the two forfeits, the Tigers and Terps participated in a pair of exhibition matches following regulation. Redshirt freshman Matt MacLean defeated Andy Lowy, 7-2, and Patrick Klenkel won a 6-2 decision against Aaron Casp in the exhibitions.
The Terps are now off for two weeks before heading to the Wilkes Open in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. December 28. Maryland does not participate in another dual until its conference opener January 11 in College Park, Md. against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

MARYLAND 46, PRINCETON 3_
197 - No. 7 Hudson Taylor (MD) wins by forfeit (6-0)_
HWT - Patrick Gilmore (MD) wins by forfeit (12-0)_
125 - Lou Ruland (MD) fall over Robert Benitez, 2:59 (18-0)_
133 - No. 9 Steven Bell (MD) fall over Nikhil Pereira, 2:03 (24-0)_
141 - No. 18 Alex Krom (MD) fall over Daniel Kolodzik, 2:10 (30-0)_
149 - Steve Fehnel (MD) dec. Danny Scotton, 6-4 sv1 (33-0)_
157 - Kyle John (MD) fall over Marty Everin, 4:30 (39-0)_
165 - Brian Letters (MD) major dec. Mike Alvarez, 10-2 (43-0)_
174 - Corey Peltier (MD) dec. Travis Erdman, 11-4 (46-0)_
184 - Kurt Brendel (PU) dec. Owen Smith, 5-1 (46-3)