Jan. 10, 2009

HAMPTON, Va. - Anchored by the efforts of its veteran members, the Navy wrestling team earned an 18-12 victory over Bucknell Saturday morning in the consolation bracket at the Virginia Duals. The Mids (4-2), who are assured of at least an eighth-place finish in the 16-team tournament, will battle Old Dominion, who dispatched Rider 25-12 on Saturday morning, at 4:00 pm.

In what was a seesaw affair all the way down to the final few matches, Navy fell behind early as Bucknell captured decisions in each of the first two matches, including a tough one-point loss by Navy's Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.) at 125 pounds.

Navy claimed its first win of the match thanks to Matt Pagan's win over rookie Adam Healey, 6-3, at 141 pounds. The Mids evened the match at six apiece when fifth-ranked Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) managed to hold off a challenging Kevin LeValley, 4-3, at 149 pounds. Familiar foes, the twosome last met in the championship bout at the Navy Classic where Saddoris won the match, 9-5.

The Mids pulled ahead in the match when senior Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) handed Tyler Riccio a 7-0 loss. Not only was it the third time Ahern had beaten Riccio this season, it's the third consecutive time he's held him scoreless after turning in 5-0 wins at the Navy Classic and again at the Nittany Lion Open.

Navy's lead, however, would be short-lived as 13th-ranked Andy Rendos turned back Navy sophomore 165-pounder Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.), 6-2, followed by a Shane Riccio triumph (7-2) over junior Mike Billings (Waterford, Mich.) at 174 pounds.

With three matches remaining, the Mids trailed by just three points, 12-9, and head coach Bruce Burnett looked to his seniors to reach down and help lead their team to victory.

Senior Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.) answered first as he sought to avenge a one-point loss to Bucknell's David Thompson at the Navy Classic that prevented him from reaching the championship match. The 184-pounder earned a 6-5 decision over Thompson and knotted the match at 12-12.

Next up for the Mids was Philip Neese (Lexington, S.C.), who came into the match having lost three straight matches, including both of his bouts on Friday. Neese, though, had battled Bucknell's Jay Hahn twice at the Navy Classic, seeing mixed results. But it was his 6-2 win over Hahn on Saturday that gave the Midshipmen the lead for good.

Though Navy owned a 15-12 advantage over the Bison heading into the final match, the weight of the match was on the shoulders of backup heavyweight Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.), who needed to win his match for Navy to advance in the tournament. Moyer, who had wrestled only four matches prior to the Virginia Duals, missed nearly all of the first two months of action rehabbing from surgery and also bumped up a weight class from a year ago.

For the second time in the last two days, Moyer has come to his team's aid. First it was against Virginia in the opening round when he knocked off Calvin Cardillo to help secure a 20-15 win by the Mids and on Saturday, it was his decisive 10-3 victory over Bucknell's Nathan Jones.

Navy 18, Bucknell 12
125 - Derek Reber (BU) dec. Prescott Garner (Navy), 7-6; Bucknell 3-0
133 - No. 20 David Marble (BU) dec. Aaron Kalil (Navy), 10-6; Bucknell 6-0
141 - Matt Pagan (Navy) dec. Adam Healey (BU), 3-1; Bucknell 6-3
149 - No. 5 Bryce Saddoris (Navy) dec. Kevin LeValley (BU), 4-3; Even 6-6
157 - Joel Ahern (Navy) dec. Tyler Riccio (BU), 7-0; Navy 9-6
165 - No. 13 Andy Rendos (BU) dec. Matt DeMichiel (Navy), 6-2; Even 9-9
174 - Shane Riccio (BU) dec. Mike Billings (Navy), 7-2; Bucknell 12-9
184 - Casey Caldwell (Navy) dec. David Thompson (BU), 6-5; Even 12-12
197 - Philip Neese (Navy) dec. Jay Hahn (BU), 6-2; Navy 15-12
HWT - Tyler Moyer (Navy) dec. Nathan Jones (BU), 10-3; Navy 18-12
*rankings according to InterMat

### Go Navy ###