Lehigh 21 Maryland 15

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The 100th season of Lehigh wrestling opened with a resounding 21-15 win over No. 17 Maryland in front of 1,967 fans inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on Sunday afternoon. With Maryland trailing by just three points with one bout remaining, freshman Zach Rey scored a 5-3 decision over Patrick Gilmore to clinch the win for the Mountain Hawks.

Rey's decision wrapped up an exciting day of action at Grace Hall, and clinched Pat Santoro's first victory as head coach of the Mountain Hawks.

“A win is a win,” Santoro said. “We really wanted to wrestle hard out there today. There are some things we need to work on going forward, but it's a start.”

Rey scored the first points of the match by taking down Gilmore in the final seconds of the first period, and he never trailed again. At the start of the third period, Rey quickly escaped from Gilmore's grasp, and before the Terrapin could catch his breath, he had shot in for a takedown to take a 5-1 lead, which was plenty of cushion for the freshman grappler.

“He's a heck of an athlete,” Santoro said of Rey. “Coming into Grace Hall today I think he had a lot of nerves going. At this level every point matters and he did a great job.”

John McDonald sent the crowd into a frenzy in the opening minutes of the meet when he held on for a thrilling 9-8 victory over Brendan Byrne at 125. With the score knotted at 8-8 and McDonald holding the advantage with more than two minutes of riding time, Byrne needed to make a takedown in the waning seconds. He shot in - grabbing hold of McDonald's left foot and moving around to take control - but McDonald was able to keep him at bay long enough to hold on for the win.

The Terrapins answered in the next two matches to grab hold of the lead in the meet. Matt Fisk fell behind early to Steven Bell and was unable to overcome the deficit at 133. When Bell scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds, it sealed the win for the Maryland grappler by a 7-2 decision. At 141, Alex Krom put Maryland on top for the first time in on the day, holding on for a decision over Seth Ciasulli. Trailing 2-1, Ciasulli came within inches of turning the bout in the final seconds when he grasped Krom's leg and tried to score a takedown. But Krom managed to break free and turn the move into a Maryland takedown to win, 4-1.

The marquee matchup of the day lived up to its billing as No. 15 Trevor Chinn defeated No. 14 Eric Medina at 149. Chinn scored early by shooting in for a hold of Medina's left leg and arm, dragging him back to the center of the ring so the Terrapin couldn't escape out of bounds. Leading 6-5 late in the final period, Chinn sealed the match with a takedown with just 15 seconds remaining and held on for the 8-6 victory.

“We knew the first four bouts would be key,” said Santoro. “Maryland has some talented guys in the lower weights, and we figured we had to steal a couple of bouts to be successful.”

At the 157, Maryland scored its third victory of the day when Kyle John outlasted Sean Bilodeau in a 9-6 decision. But the Mountain Hawks answered back with three consecutive wins of their own. Mike Galante's 8-4 win over Brian Letters and Alex Caruso's 5-3 decision over Corey Peltier gave Lehigh the overall lead heading into the home stretch.

That set the stage for some heroics from David Craig at 184. Craig scored an early takedown in the first period, and nearly recorded the fall in the opening minutes before Ryan Gray was able to slip away. But Craig was determined, and even though he suffered a cut to the face, which caused blood to stream down his face, he flipped Gray over and scored the match's first pin at 1:53.

“He just didn't care,” Santoro said. “That's the greatest part about the sport; that you have to fight through the pain. He didn't miss a beat and he really poured it all out there.”

The Terrapins would not go away though, as No. 2 Hudson Taylor equaled Craig's feat in the second period against Joe Kennedy. Taylor already recorded a near fall in the first period, and he finished Kennedy off with a pin at the 4:30 mark to bring Maryland within three points in the team score before Rey's match sealed the win for the Brown and White.

The Mountain Hawks will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Pittsburgh for a matchup with the Panthers at 7 p.m. The match can be heard locally on WLVR-FM as well as online at Lehighsports.com.

125 John McDonald (Lehigh) dec. Brendan Byrne (Maryland) 9-8

133 Steven Bell (Maryland) dec. Matt Fisk (Lehigh) 7-2

141 Alex Krom (Maryland) dec. Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) 4-1

149 Trevor Chinn (Lehigh) dec. Eric Medina (Maryland) 8-6

157 Kyle John (Maryland) dec. Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh) 9-6

165 Mike Galante (Lehigh) dec. Brian Letters (Maryland) 8-4

174 Alex Caruso (Lehigh) dec. Corey Peltier (Maryland) 5-3

184 David Craig (Lehigh) fall Ryan Gray (Maryland) 1:53

197 Hudson Taylor (Maryland fall Joe Kennedy(Lehigh) 4:30

285 Zach Rey (Lehigh) dec. Patrick Gilmore (Maryland) 5-3

Attendance - 1,967

Referee - Jake Llewellyn