Jan. 15, 2000

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Freshman Joe Mormile (Toms River, N.J.) set the tone early in the match with a first period pin, but sophomore Josh Weidman (Hershey, Pa.) provided the final difference, shutting out ACC-runner-up Jamie Groudle at 165 pounds to give Maryland the 21-19 win over North Carolina at Ritchie Coliseum.

The Tar Heels, defending ACC champions for the past three years, began the dual match as Corey Bell major decisioned senior co-captain Mike Tomaino (Allenhurst, N.J.) to give the Heels an early 3-0 lead.

At 184, Mormile appeared to struggle early against Nick Richmond, but he took advantage a mistake and flipped Richmond onto his back. In a span of only seconds, he took control of his match and earned his second-straight home pin in 2:48. He beat Coppin's Tim Turner on Dec. 11 in 53 seconds.

North Carolina responded with four straight wins by Clint Osborn, Matt Kenny, Skyler Holman and Brad Byers to take a commanding 19-6 lead with only four matches to go.

Byers defeated ACC Champion Brandon York (Gaithersburg, Md.) in the toughest match of the afternoon. The two wrestlers met last March for the ACC title with York coming out on top, but this time Byers earned the 2-1 double-overtime win when he kept York from escaping for the one-minute sudden-death period.

At 141, sophomore Mark Mansueto (West Chester, Pa.) continuously earned points over Andrew Slack and finally won by technical fall, 23-8, in 6:36 to earn the Terps five team points. Senior co-captain Grant Newman (Chesapeake City, Md.) continued the comeback with a 10-2 decision over Aaron Gilson to bring the Terps within four. Sophomore Rob Booth (Atco, N.J.) won an emotional decision over Dennis Landin, 9-4, at 157 pounds to cut the margin to one.

In the deciding match, Weidman faced off with Jamie Groudle, an NCAA qualifier last year at 174 pounds. Weidman got on the board in the second period with a takedown and held onto his advantage time to finish with a 3-0 victory.

Maryland improves to 2-1 on the season as North Carolina falls to 2-3, 1-2 in the ACC.