Nov. 18, 2009

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy wrestling team will open the home portion of its 2009-10 schedule on Saturday when it hosts the annual Navy Classic at Halsey Field House beginning at 9:00 am. Having won the team title in 16 of the 31 years the tournament has been held, including last year's two-point decision over Virginia Tech, the Mids will battle eight teams -- Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Campbell, Duquesne, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Virginia Tech and West Virginia -- for the 2009 Navy Classic crown.

Among the field, there are nine ranked wrestlers, including two each at 157 and 174 pounds. Meanwhile, there are 27 returning placewinners from last year's Navy Classic, including defending champions David Marble (133) from Bucknell, Jesse Dong (157) from Virginia Tech, Bryce Saddoris (149) and Luke Rebertus (174) from Navy.

"We are excited to be back home and wrestle in front of a Navy crowd," said 10th-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett, whose Navy team is not ranked but is receiving votes in the national poll. "We don't have quite as many teams coming in this year for the tournament, but the number of nationally-ranked athletes that will be competing is good. I look for this to be one of the more competitive Navy Classics we've had."

After opening the season the weekend of Nov. 7 at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Central New Jersey Open, the Mids have since used the last two weeks to correct any errors and improve upon their performances leading up to Saturday's Navy Classic.

"I see it as a good thing that we've had the last two weeks to evaluate each wrestler's performance," added Burnett. "We were able to see what kind of improvements needed to be made in both the technical and tactical areas, giving us the opportunity to get back into the room and tighten things up."

Nine Navy wrestlers who placed in last year's Navy Classic will be back in action, including title winners and NCAA qualifiers Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) and Luke Rebertus (Elkton, Md.). Saddoris, who compiled a 43-8 record a year ago and earned All-America honors, has moved up from 149 pounds to 157 and has seen success so far. Ranked 11th nationally, Saddoris owns a 3-1 record this season, placing third at the Eastern Michigan Open. His lone loss was to nationally-ranked Colton Salazar of Purdue.

Meanwhile, Rebertus is also coming off a fine performance at the Eastern Michigan Open where he dropped an 8-3 decision in the championship bout against 11th-ranked Luke Manuel of Purdue. Rebertus enjoyed a sensational rookie campaign that saw him with 36 matches, just one win off the school record. Additionally, he became only the sixth Navy freshman to win an individual title at the Navy Classic and the first since Tyrone Neal in 1998.

Team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) placed fourth at 157 pounds at last year's Navy Classic, but is looking to use the momentum from his 149-pound title win at the Eastern Michigan Open to propel him to another crown this weekend. Sophomore Pat McCaffrey was unable to participate in the Navy Classic a year ago after sustaining a season-ending knee injury, but he has worked hard to get back onto the mat and will be in action on Saturday. He is coming off a second-place finish at the Eastern Michigan Open.

Additional Navy placewinners from last year's Classic include 125-pounders Allan Stein (Portland, Maine) and Austin Clouse (Annapolis, Md.), John Majka (Chicago, Ill.) at 149 pounds, Cory Vernon (Great Meadows, N.J.) at 157 pounds, Mike Billings (Waterford, Mich.) at 174 pounds and 184-pounder Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.).

A couple of freshmen to keep on eye on this weekend include heavyweight Dan Miller (Berlin, Md.), who took fourth at the Eastern Michigan Open, and 184-pound Andrew Buck (Carson, Wash.), who did not place, but turned in a 4-2 record at the Eastern Michigan Open.

"As a whole, I feel good about where the freshman class is at right now, but it's really an ongoing process," said Burnett, who has had at least one freshman in each of his last two seasons qualify for the NCAA Championship. "We are in the very early stages of the season and we are looking for each one of the freshmen to grow physically, but as wrestlers in terms of honing their skills. On the technical side of things, they still need to get better and they have a long way to go before they can get on top of that podium at the end of the year, but we are working on a daily basis to move them in that direction."

While Navy certainly looked strong in its opening weekend, the Mids will be pushed by a number of teams at this year's Classic. Virginia Tech, who is ranked 23rd by InterMat, enters the tournament with four ranked rosters on tap to compete, including 157-pounder Jesse Dong who is ranked 19th and won took the individual title at the Navy Classic a year ago. Meanwhile, junior Hokie Chris Diaz is perhaps the favorite heading into the 141-pound weight class after placing second at the Classic last fall and owning a No. 12 national ranking.

Bucknell also brings with it an accomplished group of wrestlers, including defending 133-pound Navy Classic champion David Marble who is ranked 13th in the country. Senior Shane Riccio, the highest ranked wrestler in the tournament at No. 10, will look to improve upon his third-place finish at last year's Classic.

Nine different teams have claimed the team title in the 31 years the Navy Classic has been held, while 72 different Navy wrestlers have earned individual titles. At least one Navy wrestler has won an individual crown in 29 of the 31 years (2000, `03), while there have been 13 multi-year winners.

2009 Navy Classic
Date: Saturday, Nov. 21
Venue: Halsey Field House
Participating teams: Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Campbell, Duquesne, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Navy, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
Tickets: $6 adults, $3 students (18 years and under)
Promotions: Giving Thanks - Any fan who brings three canned goods will receive a discounted $3 ticket. Additionally, fans are invited to enter a drawing for the chance to win a free turkey.
Live Scoring: Updated brackets will be posted throughout the day on www.NavySports.com - please check the sidebar on the wrestling team page for updates.

Projected session times:
9:00 am - preliminary rounds
2:00 pm - semifinals
4:30 pm - finals

Parking: As a reminder, only those cars that have a Department of Defense sticker will be allowed to drive onto the Naval Academy grounds. Fans are encouraged to park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium ($5 charge) and take the free shuttle to Halsey Field House. Visitors are also permitted to walk onto the grounds with a valid photo ID.

Participating ranked wrestlers:
• 125 - None
• 133 - No. 13 Dave Marble, Bucknell
• 141 - No. 12 Chris Diaz, Virginia Tech
• 149 - No. 20 Peter Yates, Virginia Tech
• 157 - No. 11 Bryce Saddoris, Navy; No. 19 Jesse Dong, Virginia Tech
• 165 - No. 20 Rick Schmelyun, Bloomsburg
• 174 - No. 10 Shane Riccio, Bucknell; No. 14 Luke Rebertus, Navy
• 184 - No. 18 Tommy Spellman, Virginia Tech
• 197 - None
• HWT - None

Returning placewinners from the 2008 Navy Classic:
• 125 - Allan Stein (Navy, 6th); Austin Clouse (Navy, 5th at 133)
• 133 - David Marble (Bucknell, Champion); Denny Herndon (George Mason, 4th); Jared Jones (Virginia Tech, 6th)
• 141 - Chris Diaz (Virginia Tech, 2nd); Kelin Bidelspach (Campbell, 3rd)
• 149 - Kevin LeValley (Bucknell, 2nd); Glenn Shober (Navy, 4th at 157); John Majka (Navy, 4th at 141)
• 157 - Jesse Dong (Virginia Tech, Champion); Bryce Saddoris (Navy, Champion at 149); Cory Vernon (Navy, 6th at 149);Kramer Whitelaw (George Mason, 5th at 165); Aaron Keeton (George Mason, 6th at 165)
• 165 - Matt Epperly (Virginia Tech, 2nd); Frankie McLaughlin (George Mason, 5th at 157)
• 174 - Luke Rebertus (Navy, Champion); Shane Riccio (Bucknell, 3rd); Anthony Trongone (Virginia Tech, 4th); Mike Billings (Navy, 6th);Matt Weston (West Virginia, 4th at 184)
• 184 - David Thompson (Bucknell, 2nd); Matt DeMichiel (Navy, 3rd at 165)
• 197 - Jay Hahn (Bucknell, 5th)
• HWT - Khiry Reid (Campbell, 5th); D.J. Bruce (Virginia Tech, 2nd at 197)