Oklahoma outlasted the Maryland Terrapins, 22-15, at the McCasland Field House in Norman, battling back from a 12-11 deficit after six bouts to remain undefeated.
"That was a great team we beat tonight," head coach Jack Spates said. "We had a lot of respect for Maryland coming in. Our guys need to continue to learn how to win tough and earn points. It feels good to be 13-0."
For the second straight dual, Oklahoma faced a deficit entering the 174-pound match. Against Chattanooga last weekend, the Sooners rallied and won handily.
Friday evening, the team rose to the occasion once again.
Trailing 12-11, 174-pound Jeff James (No. 9) turned the tide back in favor of OU with a decisive 20-4 technical fall of Patrick Klenkel. Pat Flynn then improved to 19-2 on the year with a 9-3 win over Ryan Gray to put the Sooners up 19-12.
Hudson Taylor (No. 11) took the win over No. 10 Eric Lapotsky at 197 pounds by a 6-2 decision, inching the Terrapins back to within four, 19-15.
Sooner heavyweight Nathan Fernandez would need a win or lose by only a decision to ensure an OU victory.
"I had to get a win, I wasn't worried about giving up bonus points," Fernandez said.
The redshirt sophomore followed through. Fernandez out-toughed Patrick Gilmore, winning by a 6-2 final and improved his record to 17-4 this season, including nine straight.
"Tonight Nathan faced a situation where the match was on the line," Spates said. "I thought he won by being aggressive and it was a really nice win for him."
To begin the evening, 125-pound Joey Fio, ranked 11th, edged Brendan Byrne, 2-1. Junior Brian Shelton made it a 6-0 Sooner lead with a 6-1 decision over James Knox.
Alex Krom then evened the match at six all with a pin of Sooner Seth Vernon at 141 pounds.
Pushing Oklahoma back on top was redshirt junior Kyle Terry with a 21-5 stomping of Steve Fehnel at 149 pounds. Terry, ranked No. 15 in the country, now owns an impressive 17-match win streak.
A pair of Maryland victories put the Terrapins back on top, 12-11, after 157-pound Kyle John upset No. 14 Shane Vernon, 14-7, and Brian Letters bested Ryan Smith at 165 pounds, 7-3.
The Sooner squad will look to improve to 14-0 this Sunday, Jan. 18, when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., to face the Arizona State Sun Devils at 7 p.m. CST
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