Jan. 19, 2008

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A pin by Lehigh's Seth Ciasulli at 133 pounds broke a 16-16 tie, giving Lehigh the go-ahead points and eventual 22-19 win over the 23rd-ranked Navy wrestling team Saturday evening at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall in Bethlehem, Pa. The two teams split the 10 bouts, but three extra-point wins, including a pair of falls proved to be the deciding blow against the Midshipmen. Navy drops to 3-4 overall and 3-1 in EIWA duals, while the Mountains Hawks are now 8-11 overall and a flawless 4-0 in conference action.

"I'm extremely disappointed in the loss tonight," said eighth-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "This was really a tough one to swallow. We had some guys who showed up and some who did not. We need to understand that every time you walk onto the mat, it counts. We lost a lot of close matches, but you have to show up every time you compete."

Lehigh built an early 6-0 lead on a pair of decisions at 149 and 157 pounds. Navy rookie Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) dropped a heartbreaker in the opening match of the evening, as he was tripped up by a 2-1 count in the second tiebreaker. Chinn rode Saddoris out the first 30-second period, but was able to escape in the second period to clinch a team-best 18th on the year. Meanwhile, Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) dropped a 5-1 decision against Dave Nakasone at 157 pounds that included a takedown at the final buzzer.

Navy finally got on the scoreboard when senior 165-pounder Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.) turned in a third period takedown and added riding time to defeat second-year standout Mike Galante, 5-3.

"Justin came to wrestle tonight," said Burnett. "He beat a very good wrestler in Galante. Justin has really stepped it up in recent weeks."

Navy was counting on a win at 174 pounds, however, the flu kept eighth-ranked Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.), a returning All-American, sidelined for Saturday's match. Instead, Burnett asked junior Jason Coyne (Trafford, Pa.) to step in for Stolpinski and face Lehigh rookie Alex Caruso who subsequently produced four takedowns en route to a 10-2 major decision. Just a night earlier, Stolpinski earned a share of the program's all-time wins title by earning a technical fall over East Stroudsburg's Shane Mallory.

Trailing 10-3, Navy junior Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.) helped narrow the gap by earning a major decision over Lehigh's Kadeem Samuels at 184 pounds. With a 10-5 advantage with just seconds remaining in the match, Caldwell was awarded a takedown at the buzzer to give him the 13-5 decision and an extra point for the Midshipmen as Navy now trailed 10-7.

Lehigh and Navy then traded falls at 197 and 285, leaving the Mountain Hawks in front 16-13 after seven bouts. Sophomore Alex Iacocca nearly pinned Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) in the first period, but had to settle for the four-point near fall. In the second, Iacocca was reversed, but answered by reversing Parsons onto his back and securing his first fall of the season in 4:01. Third-ranked Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) answered, however, turning Lehigh sophomore Justin Allen for a fall in 1:44. Prendergast pushed his winning streak to 14 in a row and improved to 24-4 on the year. Ranked fourth all-time with 33 pins, he has produced 10 in his senior season.

Rookie 125-pounder Allan Stein (Portland, Maine), who picked up his first collegiate dual meet win Friday night, used that momentum to pick up a 7-6 win over Mitch Berger and knot the meet up at 16 all. By the middle of the second period, Stein had been credited with three takedowns. But Berger battled back and tied the match at six with a takedown at the second period buzzer. Though Berger rode Stein for the majority of the final stanza, Stein was able to escape late in the period to clinch the victory.

"What can I say about Allan Stein," said Burnett. "He has battled and competed throughout the season and just continued to improved. His win was a big one for us tonight and I was proud of his effort."

But it was Ciasulli who provided the heroics for Lehigh thanks to a pin against Navy two-time NCAA qualifier Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.). Baker reversed Ciasulli to open the second period, and after an escape, Ciasulli was able to take Baker down to his back, and positioned himself for his third fall of the season with just two seconds remaining in the period.

Navy's Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) was forced into a corner, needing a pin to help the Mids tie up the match. Shober, who entered the match 0-6 in dual competition this winter, wrestled well and came up with a 5-2 win over Lehigh 141-pounder Jeff Santo, but it was not enough as the Mids dropped the three-point decision to their long-time rival.

The Mids will be back in action next Saturday when they play host to N.C. State in a nonconference matchup. Action is set to begin at 7:00 pm at Halsey Field House in Annapolis.

Lehigh 22, Navy 19149 - Trevor Chinn (Lehigh) dec. Bryce Saddoris (Navy) 2-1 tb (L3, N0)157 - Dave Nakasone (Lehigh) dec. Joel Ahern (Navy) 5-1 (L6, N0)165 - Justin Jacobs (Navy) dec. Mike Galante (Lehigh) 5-3 (L6, N3)174 - Alex Caruso (Lehigh) maj. dec. Jason Coyne (Navy) 10-2 (L10, N3)184 - Casey Caldwell (Navy) maj. dec. Kadeem Samuels (Lehigh) 13-5 (L10, N7)197 - Alex Iacocca (Lehigh) Fall Matt Parsons (Navy) 4:01 (L16, N7)285 - Ed Prendergast (Navy) Fall Justin Allen (Lehigh) 1:44 (L16, N13)125 - Allan Stein (Navy) dec. Mitch Berger (Lehigh) 7-6 (L16, N16)133 - Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) Fall Joe Baker (Navy) 4:58 (L22, N16)141 - Glenn Shober (Navy) dec. Jeff Santo (Lehigh) 5-2 (L22, N19)