As the dual began, No. 12 Braxton Brown wasted no time quickly earning a takedown in the first period of his bout against No. 17 Tristan Lujan. Brown added to his lead in the third period with an escape and a riding time point to earn his eighteenth victory of the season. 

This victory happened to be just one of two the Terps had in their dual against No. 22 Michigan State. Maryland lost the dual, 37-9. 

Coming off their fourth loss, the Terps looked to bring their two-match losing streak to an end. This proved to be a tall task, with Maryland facing six ranked Michigan State wrestlers. 

The Terps were also missing three ranked wrestlers of their own. No. 14 Jaxon Smith, No. 20 Ethen Miller, and No. 24 Michael North were all absent from the lineup, making beating a 7-4 Michigan State team even harder. 

After Brown started the dual with a decision victory, Conner Quinn couldn’t find the same success. Quinn dropped his bout by technical fall to No. 14 Rayvon Foley.

No. 33 Kal Miller and Jordan Hamdan were tied at zero going into the second period of their bout. Miller was holding onto the leg of Hamdan when the officials issued Miller a second stalling call, awarding a point to Hamdan. Hamdan added an escape in the period, taking a 2-0 lead into the third period. 

There, Miller couldn’t get the takedown he needed, losing the bout 2-1. 

With Ethen Miller out due to an illness, the Terps looked to Joe Fisk, in his first collegiate bout, to flip the momentum of the dual. Fisk couldn’t gain any traction in his bout, losing by technical fall to Peyton Omania.

The 157-bout started and ended in the first period. No. 13 Chase Saldate pinned Kevin Schork with a little under a minute left to go in the first period. 

Saldate’s win put Maryland in a big hole on the scoreboard. The Terps trailed the Spartans by 16 points entering the last half of the dual. 

Michigan State won the next two bouts by decision. No. 25 Caleb Fish won the 165 bout over John Martin Best 3-1, and Ceasar Garza was able to build on his 4-3 lead in the third period to win the 174 bout 5-3.

Chase Mielnik couldn’t find victory in his bout either, losing to No. 13 Layne Malczewski by fall in the first period. 

After the Terps forfeited the 197 bout, No. 25 Jaron Smith ended the night on a better note for the struggling Maryland squad. 

Smith was able to pin Ryan Vasbinder in the first period to give Maryland its second victory of the dual. The pin was Smith’s second of the year.

Despite a third straight loss, there were a couple of positives in the form of Brown and Smith. Brown remains undefeated in dual bouts with a record of 13-0 in duals this season. Smith improved his overall record to 10-6 with his victory.

The Terps will have to rebound quickly, as they stay in the state of Michigan to take on the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines on Sunday.