By Ryan Connors

On senior night against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Terps were unable to secure their first Big Ten victory, losing 34-12 and finishing their home slate with a 5-8 record (0-8 in the Big Ten).

Senior heavyweight Spencer Myers provided the biggest thrill of the match, ending his last dual meet as a Terrapin by winning in sudden-death overtime against Minnesota’s No. 12 Michael Koells. Myers and Koells were knotted at 6-6 after three periods, but Myers scored a takedown early in overtime to earn the victory.

“You never like losing,” Maryland head coach Kerry McCoy said. “We got beat pretty bad again by one of the top teams in the country. Some of the matches, we were just outmatched. Overall, I think the guys fought hard. The guys are focusing on going out there and doing their best now and getting ready for the individual tournament.”

Myers and sophomore Shyheim Brown were the only Maryland wrestlers to win their individual matches, although redshirt junior Geoffrey Alexander did win his match by forfeit, as Minnesota did not have a wrestler in the 133-lb weight class.

Brown was excited about his victory and about what it means for the rest of his season.

“It was definitely good to go out with a win in front of the home crowd,” Brown said. “I’m gonna start changing those losses into wins here at the Big Ten tournament, so I’m really looking forward to that. I can’t wait to wrestle those guys and I want to beat them all.”

Redshirt junior Lou Mascola almost equaled the thrill of Myers’ match. He had Minnesota wrestler and the top ranked wrestler in the country, Dylan Ness, nearly pinned right out of the gate in the first period, only to see Ness escape his hold and immediately pin him for the win by fall.

The Terrapins have one last chance to notch their first Big Ten win against Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois on Friday, February 13.