1/5/2002 - Wrestling
Navy Wrestling Falls at Lonestar Duals

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DALLAS - The Navy wrestling team dropped its three dual matches Saturday afternoon at the Lonestar Duals. The Mids fell to Northwestern (27-13), to third-ranked Oklahoma (29-9) and to 22nd-ranked Wisconsin (35-3).

"I am very disappointed in the way the Midshipmen wrestled today," Navy head coach Bruce Burnett said. "We lost some close matches that we needed to win. The guys really weren't prepared to wrestle, and we went up against some tough competition. We will be looking to see if they bounce back with better resolve and keep improving in the practice room."

Navy (4-4) won three matches against Northwestern, however the Mids lost three one-point bouts.

Navy team captain Mark Conley (Sr./Exton, Pa.) defeated John Giacche, 6-0, in the 141-pound weight class, while teammate Mike Bigrigg scored a 15-2 decision over Northwestern?s Brendan Curran in the 197-pound weight class. The Mids? only other victory in the match came from junior Steve Kovach (Parkerburg, Pa.), who pinned Mark Little in the heavyweight division at the 6:37 mark.

In Navy?s 29-9 loss to third-ranked Oklahoma, the Mids picked up victories from Dan Hemminger (So./Annapolis, Md.), Conley and Kovach.

Hemminger scored a narrow 3-2 victory over Oklahoma?s Matt Grice in the 149-pound weight class. In the 141-pound weight class, Conley edged the Sooners? Nate Parker, 1-0. Kovach rounded out the scoring for Navy, defeating Gary Barber in the heavyweight division, 5-2.

Navy returns to action Saturday when the Mids travel to Piscataway, N.J., to take on Rutgers at 2 p.m.