* 2003 National Assistant Coach of the Year comes to Maryland     COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Pat Santoro, a two-time NCAA national champion and four-time All-American, has been named the new head coach for wrestling at the University of Maryland, associate athletics director Michael Lipitz announced Tuesday.     Santoro, 37, comes to Maryland after serving for the past nine seasons as the assistant coach at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Lehigh finished fourth in the team standings at the 2003 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and Santoro was named the national Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.      "I'm extremely happy to have an opportunity to serve as a head coach at a university with such great tradition as Maryland," said Santoro. "Athletically and academically, Maryland fits extremely well with what I'd like to accomplish as a head coach. The school has produced a number of outstanding individuals who have gone on to successful careers. After so many years as an assistant coach, I'm grateful and excited about having the opportunity to become a head coach."    Lehigh had national top-10 finishes in three of the past four seasons and has finished either first or second in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association seven times in the last eight years, including four team championships.    Santoro also has served as an assistant coach at Duquesne (1993-94) and Penn State (1991-93).     He comes to Maryland with credentials that include national success as both a coach and as a student-athlete. Santoro was an All-America wrestler at the University of Pittsburgh, earning that status each season from 1986 through 1989. He won NCAA Division I individual national championships at 142 pounds in 1988 and 1989, and was a three-time individual champion in the Eastern Wrestling League. He was the recipient of Pittsburgh's Golden Panther Award in 1989, recognizing the outstanding athlete of the year.     Following his success as a collegiate wrestler, Santoro went on to a stellar international career, being ranked among the nation's top wrestlers for more than a decade. He was a member of the U.S. National Team in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999, serving as an alternate for the 1996 Olympic Team and the 1999 World Team. He placed was fourth at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, third at the 1992 Trials and was runner-up at the U.S. Open Freestyle competition in 1992.     "We think Pat fits extremely well with the type of head coach we seek at Maryland," said director of athletics Deborah A. Yow. "Coach Santoro is a great fit for Maryland wrestling. I have every confidence that Pat will return Maryland to national prominence. I'd also like to congratulate Michael Lipitz and the committee for their work on finding such an outstanding person for our wrestling program."     Santoro graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Pittsburgh in 1992. While there he was a two-time team captain and a member of Athletes inAction and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He is a member of the EWL and District XI Wrestling halls of fame.    Santoro replaces Tom Miller, who recently took a position in private business. Maryland's wrestling schedule opens on Nov. 22 when the Terps travel to the East Stroudsburg Open and the Cornell Body Bar Invitational.