March 6, 2009
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Reigning Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association 133-pound champion Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) will anchor the Navy wrestling team's quest for its first EIWA team title since 1990 when the Mids head to Philadelphia for the 105th edition of the EIWA Championship. Hosted by Penn, the historic 8,700-seat Palestra will house the two-day tournament set to begin on Saturday with preliminaries beginning at 10:00 am.
The Midshipmen, who placed fourth a year ago, are making their 69th appearance at the EIWA Championship and have won the team title 13 times. Columbia and Penn have appeared in every EIWA Championship, while Army and Navy both joined the conference in 1941. Navy is one of four teams to win the team title at least 10 times with Lehigh winning it the most - 34 times. The Mids boast 98 individual EIWA crowns, including last year's winners Baker at 133 pounds, Matt Stolpinski at 174 pounds and Ed Prendergast at heavyweight. Navy has placed 384 wrestlers in past EIWA competitions - 98 champions, 79 in second, 82 in third, 52 in fourth, 42 in fifth and 31 in sixth.
Navy will be represented at every weight class, however, just three of the 10 wrestlers have previous EIWA Championship experience - Baker at 133 pounds, Bryce Saddoris at 149 pounds and Casey Caldwell at 184 pounds. The following is a weight-by-weight assessment of the 2009 Navy squad at the Eastern championships.
125 - Prescott Garner, Fr. (25-12 / 25-12)
One man's loss is another man's gain. This was never more apparent than in the case of rookie Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.) who came into the year as the backup 125-pounder. However, a season-ending knee injury to Pat McCaffrey (Chicago, Ill.) early in the year opened the door for Garner. One of three freshmen who will wrestle for Navy this weekend, he boasts a 25-12 record, winning five of his last six matches, including a 3-2 victory over Army's Lance Penhale in the annual Star Match. Garner has a penchant for getting wrestlers on their back, winning 13 of his matches by way of fall. It's the ninth-most single-season pins in school history, while he stands as the lone lightweight among the top 10.
133 - Joe Baker, Sr. (11-0 / 72-28)
Tenth-ranked Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) heads into the tournament having wrestled at the EIWA Championship every season. As a freshman in 2006, he placed third, followed by a fifth-place finish in 2007. A year ago he fought his way past top-seeded Mike Grey of Cornell in the semis before knocking off third-seeded David Marble in the championship by a 5-4 decision to claim his first EIWA crown. It's no secret the 2008 All-American has faced multiple injuries throughout his career and has limited his mat time this season. However, Baker has come back strong and will enter Saturday's tournament likely as the top seed and with an undefeated 11-0 record. He is coming off a 12-2 major decision over Army's Whitt Dunning two weeks ago, concluding his dual meet career having never lost to an Army foe in the annual Star Match.
141 - Matt Pagan, Jr. (16-13 / 43-29)
In recent weeks junior Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) has looked particularly strong for the Midshipmen, placing second at the All-Academy Championship. He battled most of the year with rookie John Majka (Chicago, Ill.), but his experience paid dividends for the Mids by year's end. He enters the weekend with a 16-13 record and has won four of his last six matches.
149 - Bryce Saddoris, So. (36-5 / 71-17)
Though just a sophomore, ninth-ranked Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) has achieved what some wrestlers only hope to accomplish during their entire career. The 2008 NCAA qualifier has won 80 percent of my matches, earning 71 wins through two seasons. That's just one short of what senior teammate Joe Baker, an All-American, has been able to achieve. This season he has produced a 36-5 record, dropping all five matches to ranked wrestlers, including two against arch rival Matt Kyler of Army. He is ranked 12th on the Mids' single-season wins list, just four shy of becoming only the fourth different Navy wrestler to reach 40 wins in a season (Matt Stolpinski did it twice). After setting the school record a year ago for wins at 149 pounds, he has cleared that milestone once again. Meanwhile, he boasts a 71-17 career record, just six wins shy of the Mids' top 25 career wins list. Additionally, he has smashed Navy's record for wins by a wrestler in his first two seasons, improving upon the mark (59) Greg Gingeleskie set in 1995-96 and 1996-97.
After dropping a 6-2 decision to fifth-seeded Daniel Meagher of Cornell in the quarterfinals, Saddoris won four in a row to place third at the 2008 EIWA Championship. Along the way, Saddoris clipped second-seeded Trevor Chinn of Lehigh to set up his third-place match against Columbia's Anthony Constantino, whom he defeated, 6-2.
157 - Joel Ahern, Sr. (26-13 / 72-36)
Though he has dropped a handful of tight matches in the last month (three by a combined six points) while also fighting off injuries, senior Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) has been a solid wrestler for the Midshipmen this season. He has placed in the top five in four tournaments and would likely have placed in the top three at the All-Academy Championship had he not suffered an injury in the second round. Ahern's 26 wins this season are a personal best and though he is in his final season, this will be his first trip to the EIWA Championship.
165 - Matt DeMichiel, So. (27-15 / 41-24)
Sophomore Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.) heads into his first EIWA Championship with the opportunity to join the 30-win club as he owns a 27-15 record. Like Ahern, he has dropped some heartbreakers in recent weeks, however, he has won five of his last seven matches which has included a third-place finish at the All-Academy Championship, as well as a 5-3 victory over an experienced Brian Rowan of Army in the Star Match.
174 - Luke Rebertus, Fr. (32-7 / 32-7)
Boasting a 32-7 record, 174-pounder Luke Rebertus (Elkton, Md.) is just one of only four freshmen in the history of Navy wrestling to win 30 matches, joining John Reich (30 in 1979-80), Tyrone Neal (37 in 1998-99) and Saddoris, who picked up 35 wins a year ago. The Caravel Academy product has had tough shoes to fill in his rookie campaign, stepping into the void left by the graduation of the Mids' all-time wins leader, two-time All-American Matt Stolpinski. Rebertus, who sat out a brief two-week span because of injury in mid-January, has fit into the Navy lineup nicely. His 32 wins are the third most by a Navy wrestler at his weight class, while he stands tied for 28th on the Mids' single-season wins list. He heads into the tournament having won seven straight matches.
184 - Casey Caldwell, Sr. (29-11 / 54-31)
Though Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.) came up short in his quest for an EIWA title a year ago, the experience he gained from the tournament set him up for what has been an outstanding senior season. In his first two seasons he saw action in just 10 bouts (3-7), but has since recorded a 50-24 record that has featured a 19-4 record in dual action. He is currently riding a nine-match winning streak that includes winning his first collegiate tournament, the All-Academy Championship.
197 - Philip Neese, Sr. (21-21 / 37-34)
Entering he weekend with a 21-21 record is senior Philip Neese (Lexington, S.C.) who had wrestled in a combined 29 matches prior to this season. As a first-year starter for the Mids, he has proven to be a fantastic leader and his experience has paid dividends throughout the year. His second-place finish at the All-Academy Championship, along with a 9-3 win over Thomas Shovlin of Penn at the Virginia Duals are two memorable moments for Neese this season.
HWT - Tyler Moyer, Sr. (7-12 / 47-46)
Senior Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.) has provided Navy with a gutsy performance this season. After having off-season shoulder surgery, Moyer was called upon by Bruce Burnett to step in as the Mids' starter at heavyweight after senior captain Scott Steele's (Baltimore, Md.) season ended in December with ironically a shoulder injury. An undersized heavyweight, he has had his share of tough matches this season, but he has battled in every bout.
New NCAA Qualification Standards
Starting with the 2008-09 season, automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Championships will be determined by using the primary criteria formula designed by the NCAA. Approximately 250-300 automatic qualifiers will be assigned based on the formula, while the remainder of the field of 330 wrestlers will be selected at an in-person meeting of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee after the qualifying tournaments using a secondary criteria. At-large qualifiers will be announced on March 11, 2008.
The following is the primary criteria for determining automatic qualifiers for each conference. On February 23, 2009, wrestlers in each weight class were measured on the following: winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI), and coaches' ranking. Winning percentage is defined as Division I wins divided by Division I total matches. RPI is defined as winning percentage times opponents' winning percentage times opponents' opponents' winning percentage. The coaches' ranking is defined as the weight class specific ranking as determined by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Pre-seed Committee.
Wrestlers that meet or exceed threshold levels for all three measures will be labeled "Gold Standard." Wrestlers that meet or exceed threshold levels for two of the three measures will be labeled "Silver Standard." All Gold and Silver Standard wrestlers will earn an automatic qualifying position for their respective weight class at their respective qualifying tournament. If a qualifying tournament does not have any wrestlers that meet Gold or Silver Standard at a weight class, one automatic qualifier will be allocated for that tournament's champion.
On March 9, 2009, after all qualifying tournaments have been held, wrestlers in each weight class will receive an updated winning percentage and RPI. Wrestlers that meet or exceed any one of the following criteria will be labeled "Bronze Standard": a .700 winning percentage, Top-33 RPI, Top-33 coaches' ranking, .700 winning percentage against all competition, one win against a wrestler receiving automatic qualification, or qualifying tournament placement one below automatic qualification.
Only "Bronze Standard" wrestlers will be eligible for selection as an at-large qualifier. A wrestler must have participated in their respective qualifying tournament to be eligible.
When the final calculations were made, the EIWA received 38 automatic qualifiers spread out across the 10 weight classes. The breakdown of each weight is as follows:
125 - Three
133 - Four
141 - Two
149 - Six
157 - Four
165 - Three
174 - Six
184 - Four
197 - Two
285 - Four
The main point to remember is that no one has qualified yet for the NCAA Championships. The 38 total EIWA wrestlers have assured the EIWA a set number of spots at the NCAA tournament. Anyone who wrestles at the EIWA Championship this weekend can claim one of the automatic entries to the national tournament by advancing to the requisite spot.
Schedule of Events
Saturday, March. 7
Session I (Preliminaries): 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Session I (Quarterfinals and Consolation Round 1): 12:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Session I (Consolation Round 2): 3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 8
Session II (Semifinals and Consolation Round 3): 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Session II (Consolation Semifinals): 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Session II (Consolation Finals): 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Kids "Mat Time" Event: 3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
EIWA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony: 6:15 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Session III (Championship Finals): 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
### Go Navy ###
