With a 9-3 beatdown of No. 6 seed Eric Lapotsky of Oklahoma, Terrapin 197-pound star and No. 3 seed Hudson Taylor advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament earlier this afternoon.

The first period started quickly with both wrestlers scoring takedowns, but it quickly became a drawn out ground battle and ended with Taylor on top 3-2 after an escape late in the period.

Taylor chose down to begin the second period and scored two points with a quick reversal. And after Lapotsky escaped, Taylor scored another two with a take down to take a commanding 7-3 lead.

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With only six wrestlers qualifying, the Terrapin wrestling team’s National Championship hope were already dim, but the Terps went to Omaha, Neb. this week determined to at least improve on last year’s 10th-place finish.

But after a first day in which every Terps’ wrestler except 197-pound star Hudson Taylor lost, the chance to improve upon last year’s finish has become unlikely.

There is still a lot of wrestling left and a lot of points that can be scored, but after the first day, the Terps are tied with Bucknell and Cal Poly with nine points, good for 29th in the team standings.

Despite Taylor’s two wins and berth in Friday’s quarterfinals, all five of the other Terps in the field lost at least once.

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I have to start with a mea culpa. I was under the impression that during my trip to New York to ring in 2010 with my family, I would have internet access and a working computer. Alas neither was the case, and I was stuck waiting to post of all of my notes from Terrapin wrestling program’s trip to Evanston, Ill. to compete in the Midlands Championships. The tournament took place on Northwestern’s campus on Dec. 29 and 30, so this is late, hence the apology.

Now onward with wrestling.

This tournament is considered one of the toughest tournaments in the country, and annually attracts some of the top teams in the country. This year was no exception as four top 10 teams were represented in Evanston, including No. 1 Iowa, No. 2 Iowa State, No. 6 Central Michigan, and of course the No. 7 Terps. The rest of the field was dotted with talented programs as well.

Quick note about the tournament set-up. It was an individual tournament, or each weight class has its own tournament, yet wrestlers were also scoring points for their team. It was also an open tournament, which meant that although many programs competed as a team, any wrestler was allowed to compete, including high-school and post-graduate wrestlers as well.

This year the Terps finished sixth, which is better than their ninth-place finish last season, and is particularly impressive considering only eight of their wrestlers competed. Coach Kerry McCoy had originally planned to have all ten starters at his disposal this weekend, and none of the rest of the squad even traveled.

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The Terrapin wrestling team had to wait an hour while Drexel crushed York 37-9, but once the Terps hit the mats they seemed to work diligently and quickly as they smacked Drexel 35-6.

With the exception of the 149-pounds and the heavyweight class, where both John Kohler and Pat Gilmore lost close decisions, the Terps systematically dominated Drexel as the Dragons were obviously overmatched at almost every other weight class. There are some in attendance who think the upcoming match between the Terps and York could end in a shutout, which would be impressive no matter the competition.

Here are a few of my humble observations from the first match.

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The Terrapin Wrestling team unofficially opened their season last weekend with the annual intrasquad Red & Black Wrestle-Offs won by the Red team 25-9. The real season doesn’t start until this weekend when the team travels to Buffalo to play in the Buffalo Open, an individual tournament.

But while the football team’s high-profile shortcomings have been under the magnifying glass for the better part of the Fall, the wrestling team is quietly about to begin its season as the No. 6 team in the country, their highest ranking ever.

I got a chance to catch up with Terps’ coach Kerry McCoy tonight, and while  I don’t want to give away too much because there will be much more in Thursday’s Diamondback, I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least tease the audience with some key tidbits.

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Brian Letters is one of the Terps' key returnees this season.

With success comes great expectations.

That is exactly the situation the Terrapin wrestling team is now facing thanks to a 2008-2009 season that saw them win the ACC Tournament and second year coach Kerry McCoy win ACC Coach of the Year.

D1collegewrestling.net, one of the foremost authorities on college wrestling on the internet, released its 2009-2010 preseason poll close to two weeks ago, and the Terps were No. 6.

The ranking is the highest in the program’s history. Although the site does not do conference rankings, it is safe to assume Maryland will be the favorite in the ACC as another conference foe doesn’t appear in the rankings until Virginia at No. 20. Virginia Tech is the only other ACC team ranked, as they came in at No. 21.

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