Jan. 10, 2006

Navy Meet Notes | Maryland Wrestling Home Page

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The 24th-ranked Navy wrestling team returns home for a dual meet against state rival Maryland on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., in Halsey Field House. The Mids are coming off a strong performance at the Lone Star Duals and own a 7-1 record, the program's best start since the 1999-2000 season. Fans are invited to a pre-match tailgater at Armadillo's from 6-7 p.m. The Tailgater features appitizer and drink specials. Join the Navy Wrestling fans and help build spirit for the 7:30 p.m. dual. For ticket information, call the Naval Academy Athletic Association ticket office at 1-800-US4-NAVY.

Mids Return Home After Outstanding Performance at Lone Star Duals...
• After its best performance in six years at the Lone Star Duals, Navy will look to continue the momentum with a home match against state rival, Maryland, Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., in Halsey Field House. The Mids enter the contest with a 7-1 overall mark, while the Terrapins are 1-6 on the season. Maryland, however, has lost to three EIWA teams, and one other nationally-ranked squad.
• The contest with Maryland will be just the third home action of the season for Navy, and just the second dual meet. In their lone dual-meet appearance at home, Penn State defeated the Mids, 28-6, on the Friday before final exams started. Navy is much healthier heading into this match and is looking for its eighth win of the season.
• The match will also be a homecoming of sorts for current Maryland assistant coach Todd Beckerman. Beckerman previously served as an assistant at Navy from 2003-05, helping Navy to a 24-7 record in two years in Annapolis.

Navy Has Dominating Performance at Lone Star Duals...
• The 24th-ranked Navy wrestling team was one of just two teams (Oklahoma) to post an undefeated record at the ninth annual Lone Star Duals last weekend in Arlington, Texas. The Mids defeated Purdue (25-12), Utah Valley State (39-7) and UT-Chattanooga (26-14). It marked the first time in Navy's six years competing at the event that the Mids went undefeated.
• Three wrestlers, Craig Dziewiatkowski, Matt Stolpinski and Tanner Garrett, each went 3-0 to lead Navy to the victories.
• The victory over Purdue snapped a five-match losing streak to Big 10 foes dating back to the 2000-01 season. Navy's last win over a Big 10 team prior to Saturday was a 29-16 triumph over Northwestern in the Lone Star Duals.
• The wins also pushed Navy's record to 7-1 overall, its best start since the 1999-2000 season. That team started 8-1 en route to a 10-3-1 mark. With wins in its next two matches against Maryland and East Stroudsburg, Navy can open with its best start (9-1) since the 1990-91 season. That team finished with a 19-2 record and was second in the EIWA Championships.

A Look at the Series...
• The Mids have dominated the season series against Maryland, owning a 46-7-3 mark all-time against the Terrapins. The Mids have won eight in a row, 19 of the last 20, and 35 of the last 37 against Maryland.
• Navy claimed last year's meeting by a 35-6 margin in College Park. Navy won seven straight matches from 149 pounds to heavyweight to cruise to the victory. Navy got pins from Sam Gray and Matt Stolpinski and a tech. fall from Andrew Adams to aid in the victory.

Fans Invited to Armadillo's For Pre-Match Gathering...
• The Navy wrestling team is inviting the general public to congregate on Wednesday night from 6-7 p.m., at Armadillios for the "Brigade Club Tailgater". The Tailgater features appitizer and drink specials. Join the Navy Wrestling fans and help build spirit for the 7:30 p.m. dual with the University of Maryland. The Tailgater is upstairs at Armadillo's and will be open to everyone.

Coming Up...
• The Navy wrestling team will hit the road again for a pair of EIWA contests over the weekend. On Friday night, Navy travels to Pennsylvania for a contest with the East Stroudsburg Warriors.
• On Saturday, the Mids head to Bethlehem for a dual with the 11th-ranked Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

Quick Starts...
• Navy's 4-0 start marked the second straight year the Mids have started 4-0. Since the 1991-92 season, Navy has started 4-0 just twice (the last two seasons).
• So far this season, the Mids have posted a 7-1 record after eight dual meets with seven dual meets left. Now in its 98th year of collegiate wrestling, Navy has started at 7-1 just 14 previous times. It marks the first time that Burnett has led the Mids to a 7-1 start.
• Navy will likely be favored to win its next two matches (Maryland and East Stroudsburg). If Navy is able to win the next two matches, the Mids would start 9-1 for the first time since 1990-91.

Dial 800 For Win...
• Navy has been one of the most successful teams in NCAA history, becoming the fourth team in the annals of college wrestling to record 800 dual-meet wins. The Mids won their 800th match with a 23-13 decision over UC-Davis on Nov. 12. Navy joins Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Oregon State as the only schools to reach the 800-win plateau.
• In addition to the 800 wins, Navy has moved past Oklahoma into fourth place on the all-time NCAA match list with 1,087. Navy's all-time record stands at 804-257-26.
• The Mids boast 54 All-Americans and 83 EIWA Champions. Navy has posted at least a .500 record in 91 of 96 seasons, including 27 in a row. To top it off, Navy owns an impressive 39-5-5 mark all-time against Army, including a remarkable 37-1-5 record in the last 43 matches. The Mids have won five in a row against the Black Knights, including last year's 23-10 victory at West Point in front of a regional television audience.
• Last year's 12-3 record was the best since 1993 (19-3-1) and its third-place showing at the EIWA Tournament was its highest since 1995 (3rd). Lastly, Navy sent six wrestlers to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1991.

Mids Find Success in Dual Meets...
• Following its three victories in the Lone Star Duals, Navy has now won 28 of its last 33 dual meets, dating back to Jan. 3, 2004, with all five losses coming to opponents ranked in the top 12.
• Navy improved to 22-6 in EIWA dual meets under head coach Bruce Burnett, but is a sparkling 22-1 against teams in the league other than Lehigh. He is 0-5 against the Mountain Hawks.
• Navy has won 21 straight matches in the league against teams other than Lehigh.

Bringing Home the Hardware...
• Navy had a large amount of success earlier in the year when it hosted the Navy Classic. The Mids cruised to the team title, outscoring second-place West Virginia by 67.5 points, scoring 151 points in the process. The Mids won the team title for the second straight season and 14th time in the history of the event.
• In addition to the team title, Navy won six individual championships and placed 23 wrestlers in the top six of each weight class.
• Brad Canterbury (133), John Cox (149), Tanner Garrett (HWT), Mike Kohler (125), Antonio Miranda (197) and Matt Stolpinski (174) all claimed titles. In addition to the title won by John Jarred (157) at the Eastern Michigan Open, seven Mids have claimed eight individual titles this year. Last season, in eight tournaments (including the NCAAs), seven Navy wrestlers won 12 individual titles.

Showing Off the Balance...
• Navy's balance is paying off big dividends this season as several Mids begin to add up the victories. Already this season, 13 wrestlers have recorded 10 victories and three have reached the 20-win plateau. Last season, 21 wrestlers won at least 10 matches and 10 won 20 matches.
• Three 149-pounders (John Cox, Matt Gulosh and Joel Ahern) have won at least 10 matches. Two 157-pounders (John Jarred and Justin Jacobs) and two heavyweights (Tanner Garrett and Ed Prendergast) have won 10 matches.
• So far this season, three Navy freshmen have reached 10 victories (Caleb Levee, Joel Ahern and Tyler Moyer). Last season, only four freshmen reached 10 victories for the entire year.

It Starts at the Top...
• Two months into the season, senior heavyweight Tanner Garrett appears to be Navy's best chance to gain All-America recognition. The Tulsa, Okla., native is ranked either sixth or seventh in the four major polls after leading Navy with a 35-5 record in 2004-05. Already this year, Garrett owns a 29-2 record after claiming the Eastern Michigan Open and the Navy Classic and finishing second at the prestigious Southern Scuffle.
• Garrett has won 29 straight dual matches, including a 14-0 mark last year. His last loss in a dual match came to Purdue's Israel Blevins on Jan. 3, 2004, in the Lone Star Duals, 10-3, and has now gone over two calendar years since a dual-meet loss. He has allowed just two takedowns (both by Rutgers Mike D'Amico) in his eight dual meets this season.
• He became just the sixth Navy wrestler in school history to reach 100 wins, when he reached triple-digits in a 3-1 victory over UT-Chattanooga's Israel Silva at the Lone Star Duals. Garrett is now focused on 40 victories this year, which would make him only the second wrestler in school history to reach 40 victories in a season (Mark Conley -- 44; 2001-02).
• All five of Navy's five previous 100-win wrestlers were All-Americans at some point during their Navy wrestling careers.
• Since the start of last season, Garrett is 64-7 (.901), including 7-4 against ranked opponents. He is 2-1 this year against ranked foes.
• Lastly, Garrett has wrestled 130 matches in his career becoming the sixth Navy wrestler in school history to reach 130 career matches. The 130 matches are the sixth most in school history.

Coming From Nowhere...
• John Jarred entered the 2004-05 season with a career 10-9 mark and didn't place in the top two of the Navy wrestle-offs earlier in the year. However, the junior from Kansas City, Mo., stormed through the field at the season-opening Eastern Michigan Open, defeating the NAIA's top-ranked 157-pounder, Mike Rio of No. 1-ranked Lindenwood, in the finals, 10-5, to claim his first individual title.
• Jarred then continued his red-hot start, posting a 4-0 mark at the McDaniel Duals to start the season 10-0. He ran his mark to 12-0 before falling to seventh-ranked Matt Lebe of West Virginia in the finals of the Navy Classic in a tightly-contested 6-3 decision. Lebe was a 2005 All-American at 157 pounds.
• The junior placed third at the competitive Penn State Open, knocking off Jon Masa of Hofstra, the 2005 third-place finisher at the NCAA 149-pound weight class, on his way to the high finish.
• He also won his first dual match of his career on Dec. 3 with a strong 15-4 major decision over Rutgers' Rob Kaiser.
• He placed eighth at the Southern Scuffle after winning three matches on the second day in the consolation bracket.
• Jarred performed well at the Lone Star Duals, posting a 2-1 record with both of his victories coming via major decision. He now has a team-leading eight major decisions this season and is second on the team in victories with 24 (24-6 record).

No Sophomore Slump Here...
• Matt Stolpinski is off to a strong start during his sophomore year, showing that he can compete with the top wrestlers in the country.
• Stolpinski placed third at the season-opening Eastern Michigan Open after falling to sixth-ranked Imad Kharbush of Stanford, 6-4, in the third round. He responded with impressive wins over Michigan and Purdue opponents in the consolation round.
• He followed that performance with two wins in Navy's California dual-meet swing, falling to nationally-ranked Christian Arellano of Cal State-Bakersfield. Included in the victories was an impressive 13-10 victory over nationally-ranked Ken Cook of UC-Davis.
• He then won the Navy Classic, defeating West Virginia's Kurt Brenner in the finals, 5-3. Brenner is ranked in the top 12 of three different national polls and is ranked fifth in the WrestlingReport.com's Atlantic Region poll.
• He lost to No. 8-ranked James Yonushonis of Penn State, 2-1, in a dual meet on Dec. 9, but responded with a 3-2 mark in the Southern Scuffle three weeks later.
• Three of his five losses have come to wrestlers currently ranked in the top 20, by a combined eight points.
• His 43 wins through his first two years are well ahead of pace to reach the "century club" and needs just 16 more wins this season to record the most victories by a Navy wrestler in his first two seasons on the Yard. He curently has a 43-22 record.

Cox Picks Up Where He Left Off...
• Junior John Cox has held down the fort at 149 pounds since the first day he stepped onto the mat at Navy. Now, in his third year, he is having much success leading the Navy middle-weights.
• The junior 149-pounder from Grand Haven, Mich., has bolted out to a 23-7 record after posting a 2-1 mark at the Lone Star Duals. His pin in the final match against UT-Chattanooga helped Navy to a perfect 3-0 dual-meet record.
• He currently has a 72-24 career record after 96 matches, and is well ahead of pace for 100 career victories. Twenty-nine of his 72 victories have come by extra margins, including 12 by technical fall.
• He needs just three more wins to become the 26th wrestler in school history with 75 career wins, joining heavyweight Tanner Garrett as current Mids to reach that level.
• He has now won at least 20 matches in all three seasons at Navy after going 20-6 as a freshman and 29-11 last year.
• Cox has been especially strong in dual meets during his career, recording a 24-8 mark. He is 6-2 this season.

Kane is Able...
• Despite the fact that the EIWA is loaded at 184 pounds, Navy senior Jonny Kane has shown he could be a darkhorse in the race for the top spot. • The senior, who missed last year's EIWA Tournament after posting a 26-12 record, is 12-5 this season, including 9-1 in matches determined by extra margins.
• Four of his five losses this year have come to ranked foes, including a 10-8 setback to No. 4-ranked Ben Wissel of Purdue in the Lone Star Duals. Kane is the only opponent in 22 matches to record two takedowns against Wissel. His four losses to ranked foes have come by a combined 20 points, with all but one being by decision. The other loss came to teammate Chris Pogue in the Navy Classic.
• Kane owns a 60-34 career record.

Produective Pogue...
• Senior Chris Pogue owns a 15-7 record in 2005-06, but it has been his work in dual meets that has been most impressive.
• Pogue owns a 3-0 dual-meet mark while splitting time at 184 pounds with Kane. However, what is most impressive is that Pogue has recorded 17 takedowns while not allowing any in the three dual meets. He scored a Navy-season-high 25 points in a win over Utah Valley State's Ivan Bigney at the Lone Star Duals.
• He followed that performance with a hard-fought, physical 7-4 triumph over UT-Chattanooga's Nick Lorenzano. That win came at 197 pounds where Pogue was giving up almost six pounds.

Chart-Watching...
• Several Mids are in a position to move up on the career charts.
• As many as four more Mids could reach 75 career victories, which prior to this season, had been reached just 24 times in 97 years of collegiate wrestling.

Freshmen Proving Worth...
• Navy's freshman class came in highly-regarded and the group is proving its worth on the mat.
• Rookie 197-pounder Tyler Moyer may be the most-accomplished member of the group early on in the season. Moyer placed fifth at the Eastern Michigan Open, then earned a second-place finish in the Navy Classic. Moyer has bolted out to a 13-7 record, which includes two wins over "starter" Andrew Adams.
• Freshman 141-pounder Ricky Tippett placed second in his first career tournament, the Eastern Michigan Open, then followed up that performance with a fifth-place showing at the Navy Classic. Tippett owns a 7-3 mark.
• 125-pounder Caleb Levee was third in the Navy Classic, which included a win over "starter" Alex Usztics, and seventh at the Penn State Open. He is currently sporting a 11-9 record.
• With the addition of Joe Baker to the lineup, Navy's freshman class will only get stronger.
• Fourteen members of the freshman class have wrestled this year, posting a 66-64 record with nine top-eight finishes in the three tournaments so far this year.
• Seven members of the freshmen class have already won five matches this year. Last year, just five freshmen won at least five matches all season long.

On The Tube...
• Navy will appear on television for the second straight season, only this year's appearance will be in front of a national-television audience.
• The Mids will host Army in one of the top rivalries in all of college athletics on College Sports Television on Feb. 18, 2006, from Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. The match starts at 7:00 p.m.
• Last year's Army-Navy match from West Point was telecast on CN8, and ended in a Navy 23-10 victory over the Black Knights. This year's meeting will be the 50th meeting between the two storied rivals, with the Mids holding a commanding 39-5-5 mark, including a 37-1-5 stretch in the last 43 meetings.

# GO NAVY #