Dec. 1, 2006

ANNAPOLIS, MD. - The Navy wrestling team (2-2) won all 10 weight classes to earn its second dual meet win of the season, as the Mids defeated Rutgers (0-1), 42-0, Friday night at Halsey Field House. Navy improved to 19-2 in dual meets against the Scarlet Knights and turned in the first shutout by either team in the 21-match history.

"The guys really wrestled well," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "I was happy with their aggressiveness and our conditioning was pretty good. Some of the guys started a little slow, but finished strong. I'm really pleased for the guys that all of their hard work is paying off. It was a pretty impressive win for our team.

"The competition gets a little stiffer on Sunday with so many different teams wrestling at the Nittany Lion Open, but we are anxious to meet the challenge."

The Mids earned decisions in their first two matches, including the opener at 165 pounds where Navy junior Robert Johnston (Satellite Beach, Fla.) got things started with a 4-1 decision over Rutgers sophomore Matt Pletcher.

Senior Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.), ranked 19th at 184 pounds, extended the Mids' lead to 11-0 after posting a technical fall (6:24) over Keith Dobish.

Four of the last six matches were major decisions by the Mids, while the remaining two were falls. Twentieth-ranked Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) picked up his first major decision of 2006-07 with a 12-3 win over Mike D'Amico. Junior Branden Beasley (Alexandria, Va.) returned to the mat after battling an injury early in the year to pick up his fifth win of the season with an 18-7 major decision over Dan Hilt. Seniors Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.) (141) and team captain John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) (157) also earned major decisions Friday night.

Senior Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) produced his fourth win by fall this winter and 15th of his career when he sent Andrew DelGuercio packing at 125 pounds at the 3:32 mark.

Senior John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.), ranked No. 7 at 149 pounds, took sole possession of 10th on Navy's career wins list (3) Friday night after pinning Rutgers sophomore Jack Barrett at 2:00. It marked

Also earning victories on the night were junior Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) at 174 pounds, who is now 13-1 on the year, and sophomore 197-pounder Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.) who earned a 10-8 decision over Karim Mohmoud to earn his first dual win of the 2006-07 season.

Navy will have little time to enjoy its win as it will travel to Pennsylvania to take part in the 2006 Nittany Lion Open on Sunday beginning at 8:30 am.

Dual 4 • Dec. 1Navy 42, Rutgers 0
Wt    Win                   Type     Loss                Score   N    R165   Robert Johnston       dec      Matt Pletcher       4-1     3   0174   #20 Matt Stolpinski   dec      Mike Whalen         7-0     6   0184   #19 Antonio Miranda   t-fall   Keith Dobish        6:24   11   0197   Tyler Moyer           dec      Karim Mohmoud       10-8   14   0285   #20 Ed Prendergast    major    Mike D'Amico        12-3   18   0125   Alex Usztics          fall     Andrew DelGuercio   3:32   24   0133   Branden Beasley       major    Dan Hilt            18-7   28   0141   Brad Canterbury       major    Kyle Milanese       15-3   32   0149   #7 John Cox           fall     Jack Barrett        2:00   38   0157   John Jarred           major    Chris Norrell       18-5   42   0