Feb. 15, 2008

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Navy wrestling team won eight of the 10 bouts, including the first five en route to a 29-6 victory over EIWA foe Rutgers Friday evening at College Avenue Gym in Piscataway, N.J. It was Navy's first competition in 12 days, as the Mids improved to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in EIWA competition.

"I felt like the guys competed much harder from top to bottom tonight," said eighth-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We controlled the pace and tempo pretty well which was important. In all honesty, I'm pleased with where we are at right now. That said, we still have some things to get fixed and we'll need to get it done quickly, but we did way more things right tonight than we did wrong. Our guys did take the fight to them tonight and I feel really good about that.

"Rutgers' head coach Scott Goodale is doing a good job here in his first year and he really had his guys competing hard. There were some very good matches, but I felt like our kids competed particularly well in the third period and that was the difference."

Navy opened the match at 149 pounds where rookie Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) picked off Rutgers sophomore Jack Barrett in a 4-0 decision. With the win, Saddoris improved to 29-9 on the year and is just one win shy of becoming only the third wrestler in program history to reach 30 wins during his plebe year.

Seniors Spencer Manley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.) also captured decisions at 157 and 165 pounds respectively. Manley dominated sophomore Chris Norrell, 12-5, while Jacobs earned an impressive win over Rutgers junior Matt Pletcher who is ranked fifth in the EIWA standings. Jacobs, who is unranked among the EIWA's top wrestlers, produced a 2-1 win to push Navy's lead to 9-0.

Earning his 33rd win of the season was senior captain Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.)who turned in an 11-2 major decision over third-year standout Mike Whalen. Stolpinski's 33 wins are tied as the eighth most in college wrestling this season, while it's the 19th most by a Navy wrestler. He will head into next week's Star Match against arch rival Army riding a 11-match winning streak.

Junior Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.) improved to 5-1 in dual matches this winter by defeating sophomore Keith Dobish, 3-1. Caldwell, who had won just three matches heading into his junior year, has now won 20 of the 30 matches in which he's wrestled this season.

Rutgers temporarily stopped the Mids when junior Lamar Brown scored a 12-9 decision over Navy senior Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) at 197 pounds. Brown, who is ranked fifth in the EIWA rankings, is now 12-5 in dual action, while Parsons falls to 3-4.

The loss at 197 pounds proved to be a minor hurdle for the Mids, as they came back to win three of the final four matches. Senior heavyweight Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) pinned Karim Mahmoud at 6:23 to improve to 29-4 on the year. Prendergast, ranked No. 1 in the EIWA, has won 19 consecutive matches dating back to Dec. 18. Meanwhile, he took sole possession of second on the Mids' all-time falls list, earning 37 wins via pin during his four-year career. John Reich is the Navy record holder with 63 between 1979-83.

Rookie Allan Stein (Portland, Maine), one of the most improved wrestlers on Navy's roster, picked up a 5-4 victory over Rutgers freshman Ryan Fikslin at 125 pounds. Stein is now 3-6 in dual action, including 3-2 against EIWA opponents.

Navy got its final win of the night by way of major decision thanks to junior Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.). Ranked fifth at 133 pounds in the conference, Baker turned back senior Dan Hilt, 12-5 to improve to 4-3 in dual action this season.

Rutgers senior Steve Adamcsik took the final match of the night over Navy rookie Joey Breen, 9-4. Adamcsik is ranked second in the EIWA and owns a 22-6 record this season, including an 11-3 dual meet mark.

The Midshipmen return to action next Friday night when they play host to Academy rival Army in the annual Star Match. Navy, who owns a commanding 41-5-5 series advantage, has won seven in a row against the Black Knights. Action is slated for 7:00 pm at Alumni Hall.

Navy 29, Rutgers 6
149 - Bryce Saddoris (Navy) dec. Jack Barrett (RU), 4-0
157 - Spencer Manley (Navy) dec. Chris Norrell (RU), 12-5
165 - Justin Jacobs (Navy) dec. Matt Pletcher (RU), 2-1
174 - Matt Stolpinski (Navy) maj. dec. Mike Whalen (RU), 11-2
184 - Casey Caldwell (Navy) dec. Keith Dobish (RU), 3-1
197 - Lamar Brown (RU) dec. Matt Parsons (Navy), 12-9
HWT - Ed Prendergast (Navy) fall Karim Mahmoud (RU), 6:23
125 - Allan Stein (Navy) dec. Ryan Fikslin (RU), 5-4
133 - Joe Baker (Navy) maj. dec. Dan Hilt (RU), 12-4
141 - Steve Adamcsik (RU) dec. Joey Breen (Navy), 9-4