March 17, 2006

• NCAA Wrestling Site

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Two Navy wrestlers have their sights set on All-America status tonight after moving on at the 76th NCAA Championships held at the Ford Center. Senior heavyweight Tanner Garrett and junior 149-pounder John Cox will wrestle tonight in the round of 12, with a spot on the medal stand at stake. The top eight wrestlers in each weight class earn All-America honors.

Garrett's quarterfinal-round appearance was a short one, as third-seeded Greg Wagner of Michigan scored a fall in 1:41 against the Navy senior. Garrett, who was giving up almost 50 pounds and about five inches, was taken down midway through the period onto his back, and Wagner finished the pin shortly thereafter. The loss drops Garrett's record to 43-4 on the season and sends him into the consolation bracket, where he needs one more win to earn All-America status.

Junior John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) kept his tournament run alive with a strong performance in his first match of the morning. After scrambling early to force a stale-mate against UT-Chattanooga's Aaron Martin, Cox used a body toss to score a takedown and a three-point nearfall. Cox completed the move, scoring a fall in 1:16 to advance to the consolation third round.

Cox then reached the round of 12 with an impressive 5-1 victory over Cornell's Keith Dickey. Cox scored a takedown about a minute into the match and rode out Dickey for the remainder of the first period to take a 2-0 lead into the second frame. After Dickey chose top to start the second period, the Cornell junior rode out Cox for the entire second period to stay within two points entering the third stanza. Cox then chose down to start the third period, and scored a reversal to push the lead to 4-0. Dickey scored an escape late in the period, but Cox added over a minute of riding time to claim a 5-1 victory.

Cox will wrestle Michigan's ninth-seeded Eric Tannenbaum in session IV tonight.

Freshman Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) saw his All-America hopes end with a 12-9 loss to Northern Iowa's Christopher Helgeson. Baker scored the match's first takedown, but Helgeson countered with a reversal, then added two second-period takedowns for a 9-6 lead after two periods. Baker started the third period with an escape, then tied the match at 9-9 with a takedown with just 30 seconds left. But Helgeson scored another reversal, then added a riding-time point for the 12-9 victory. The loss ends Baker's brilliant freshman season at 12-4. Baker was Navy's first freshman since Dan Hicks (1992) to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Sophomore 174-pounder Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) saw his season end in a wild 15-12 setback to Cal Poly's Nicholas Hernandez. Stolpinski was the beneficiary of three penalty points, but couldn't overcome six Hernandez takedowns in dropping the consolation round bout. Stolpinski narrowed the gap to 12-11 early in the third period, but Hernandez put the match out of reach with a takedown with about 30 seconds left. The loss ends Stolpinski's season at 30-11.

Navy Meet Notes:
• Cox's two wins on the session gave him 34 for the season, good for 15th on the single-season chart. The wins were his 83rd of his career, good for 18th on the Navy career list. Lastly, his 45 matches this season are the sixth most in a single season.
• Stolpinski's 55 wins through the first two years are the third most in school history. His 30 wins as a sophomore are also tied for the third most in school history by a Navy sophomore.
• Three of Garrett's four losses this season are by fall. He lost by fall to Big 10 powers Cole Konrad of Minnesota (ranked No. 1 in the country) and to Wagner of Michigan (ranked third). However, despite the loss, Garrett improved to 10-2 this year against Big 10 foes and is 11-3 against foes that competed in the NCAA Tournament.
• The 149-pound weight class was well-represented in the consolation round of 16. All five EIWA wrestlers competed in the round with two of them, Cox and Penn's Matt Dragon, reaching the round of 12.
• Attendance for session III was announced at 15,746.

Championship Bracket (Session III):HW - (3) Greg Wagner (Michigan) pinned (6) Tanner Garrett (Navy), 1:41
Consolation Bracket (Session III):133 - Christopher Helgeson (Northern Iowa) dec. Joe Baker (Navy), 12-9149 - John Cox (Navy) pinned Aaron Martin (UT-Chattanooga), 1:16149 - John Cox (Navy) dec. Keith Dickey (Cornell), 5-1174 - Nicholas Hernandez (Cal Poly) dec, Matt Stolpinski (Navy), 15-12
Individual Results:133 - Joe Baker (Finished Season: 12-4; Career: 12-6)1st rd. -- Lost to Gabriel Flores (Illinois) by decision, 9-3Cons. - Def. Andrae Hernandez (Indiana) by decision, 16-9Cons. - Lost to Christopher Helgeson (Northern Iowa) by decision, 12-9
149 - John Cox (Season: 34-11; Career: 83-28)1st rd. - Def. Ryan Hurley (Cleveland State) by decision, 9-42nd rd. - Lost to (2) Tyler Eustice (Iowa) by decision, 9-4Cons. - Pinned Aaron Martin (UT-Chattanooga), 1:16Cons. - Def. Keith Dickey (Cornell), 5-1
174 - Matt Stolpinski (Finished Season: 30-11; Career: 55-28)1st rd. - Pinned Aaron Miller (Kent State), 3:452nd rd. - Lost to (2) Jake Herbert (Northwestern) by fall, 0:47Cons. - Lost to Nicholas Hernandez (Cal Poly), 15-12
197 - Chris Pogue (Finished Season: 29-12; Finished Career: 60-39)Pigtail - Def. Joe Fendone (Edinboro) by decision, 10-51st rd. - Lost to (11) Ryan Goodman (NC State) by decision, 5-1Cons. - Lost to Jon Oplinger (Drexel) by major decision, 13-4
HWT - (6) Tanner Garrett (Season: 43-4; Career: 114-32)1st rd. - Def. Matthew Weight (Illinois) by decision, 6-32nd rd. - Def. (11) Spencer Nadolsky (North Carolina) by decision, 5-1Q-Finals - Lost to (3) Greg Wagner (Michigan) by fall, 1:41

# GO NAVY #