Dec. 15, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Seven Midshipmen, including returning All-American Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.), highlight the second installment of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) rankings released over the weekend. Baker, the reigning EIWA champion at 133 pounds, is the top-ranked wrestler in his weight class among EIWA wrestlers and stands No. 7 nationally.

Navy, who, as a team, is ranked fourth in the conference behind favorite Cornell, as well as Lehigh and Penn, who are tied for second, placed just four wrestlers in the preseason rankings. However, after better than a month's worth of action, three additional wrestlers appear among the top six rankings in their respective weight classes.

Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.), a rookie at 125 pounds is one of those three additions to the rankings. Garner came into the season vying for a starting spot with fellow newcomer Pat McCaffrey. When McCaffrey fell victim to an injury while wrestling in dual competition in California in early November, the door opened for Garner. With a record of 11-3, he has risen to the challenge, placing second at the Navy Classic, while taking the title at the Nittany Lion Open a week ago with a 5-0 record. He is ranked third in the EIWA rankings.

As previously mentioned, Baker is the top-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds. After missing the early portion of the season recovering from an injury, Baker returned to the mat on Nov. 22 when he wrestled his way to a second-place finish at the Navy Classic. The title bout of the Navy Classic would have pit Baker against rival David Marble of Bucknell, however, Baker was forced to bow out after aggravating his injury. Just two days later, he was forced to bounce back as he had committed to wrestling eighth-ranked Reece Humphrey of Ohio State at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Columbus, Ohio. Baker walked away the victor in front of Humphrey's hometown crowd, taking a 5-1 decision.

Moving up two spots to No. 2 in the latest poll is sophomore Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.), who has been nearly unstoppable this season at 149 pounds. In two seasons he has put together a remarkable 50-13 (.794) record, including a 15-1 record this season. He won his first 15 matches that featured title wins at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Navy Classic, before succumbing to second-ranked Bubba Jenkins of Penn State in the championship match at the Nittany Lion Open. Additionally, Saddoris is ranked No. 5 in the national polls, ironically ahead of Lehigh's Trevor Chinn who is No. 11 nationally and No. 1 in the league.

Also moving up two positions is senior Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) who is fourth at 157 pounds. The three-year letterwinner has jumped out to one of his best starts in recent memory, boasting a 15-4 record that includes a season-high finish of third at the Navy Classic. He earned the opportunity to equal that finish at the Nittany Lion Open, but was able to wrestle due to an injury. Ahern is just five wins shy of the 20-win plateau, something he's been able to achieve just once in his career (2006-07, 21-8).

Sophomore Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.) has fought his way into the 165-pound standings for the first time this season with a 14-5 record. Ranked fifth, DeMichiel has already matched his win total from a year ago, while placing in all three tournaments in which he has wrestled - fourth at Eastern Michigan Open and Navy Classic and third at Nittany Lion Open.

Though two-time All-American Matt Stolpinski left a gaping hole in Navy's lineup, head coach Bruce Burnett knew he had someone special to come in and bridge the gap. That wrestler is freshman Luke Rebertus (Elkton, Md.) and he's been nothing short of sensational for the Mids. Rebertus is ranked fourth in the EIWA rankings and boasts a 14-3 record. He placed second in his first collegiate tournament, the Eastern Michigan Open, and then began a run of 11 straight wins that featured three dual wins and a first-place finish at the Navy Classic. He is only the sixth Navy freshman to win an individual title at the Navy Classic and the first since Tyrone Neal in 1998. Two of his three losses have been against Maryland's Mike Letts - in the championship bout at Eastern Michigan and the semifinal match at the Nittany Lion Open.

Navy's final wrestler ranked among the EIWA standings is senior captain Scott Steele (Baltimore, Md.), who, with a 9-1 record, is ranked No. 2 behind Cornell's Zach Hammond. Steele won his first nine matches of the season, taking the championship at the Eastern Michigan Open for a second straight season and earning three dual wins before dropping a 3-2 decision to Duke's Konrad Dudziak in the championship match at the Navy Classic. He, too, boasts an impressive career record of 57-17 (.770). He is ninth in the national rankings, while Hammond stands No. 11.

The Mids will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Nevada to take part in the 14th Annual Brute Reno Tournament of Champions held at the Reno Downtown Convention Center. Last year, six Mids placed fourth or better, including title winner Ed Prendergast at heavyweight, to lead Navy to a fourth-place finish.

Team Ranking
1. Cornell
2. Lehigh
Penn
4. Navy
5. Harvard
Army
7. Bucknell
8. American

Individual Ranking (by vote of EIWA Ranking Committee)
125
1. Troy Nickerson, Cornell
2. Rollie Peterkin, Penn
3. Prescott Garner, Navy
4. Derek Reber, Bucknell
5. Thomas Williams, American
6. John McDonald, Lehigh

133
1. Joe Baker, Navy
2. Mike Grey, Cornell
3. David Marble, Bucknell
4. Matt Fisk, Lehigh
5. Bryan Ortenzio, Penn
6. Whitt Dunning, Army

141
1. Corey Jantzen, Harvard
2. Rick Rappo, Penn
3. Seth Ciasulli, Lehigh
4. Casey Thome, Army
5. Matt Mariacher, American
6. Stephen DeLorenzo, Brown

149
1. Trevor Chinn, Lehigh
2. Bryce Saddoris, Navy
3. Cesar Grajales, Penn
4. Matthew Kyler, Army
5. D. J. Meagher, Cornell
6. Kyle Borshoff, American

157
1. J. P. O'Connor, Harvard
2. Jordan Leen, Cornell
3. Matt Dragon, Penn
4. Joel Ahern, Navy
5. Scott Winston, Rutgers
6. Derek Sickles, Columbia

165
1. Mack Lewnes, Cornell
2. Andy Rendos, Bucknell
3. Zach Shanaman, Penn
4. Mike Galante, Lehigh
5. Matt DeMichiel, Navy
6. Matt Pletcher, Rutgers

174
1. Steve Anceravage, Cornell
2. Mike Cannon, American
3. Alex Caruso, Lehigh
4. Luke Rebertus, Navy
5. Scott Giffin, Penn
6. Shane Riccio, Bucknell

184
1. Louis Caputo, Harvard
2. Justin Kerber, Cornell
3. Matt Gevelinger, Brown
4. David Thompson, Bucknell
5. Thomas Shovlin, Penn
6. David Craig, Lehigh

197
1. Josh Arnone, Cornell
2. Richard Starks, Army
3. Andrew Silber, American
4. Branden Stearns, Brown
5. Karim Mahmoud, Rutgers
6. Shane Mallory, East Stroudsburg

285
1. Zach Hammond, Cornell
2. Scott Steele, Navy
3. Ryan Flores, Columbia
4. Trey McLean, Penn
5. Mike Sprigg, Army
6. Chris Birchler, East Stroudsburg

### Go Navy ###