Jan. 16, 2010

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Ninth-ranked Lehigh claimed wins in seven of the 10 bouts to hand the previously undefeated Navy wrestling team a 28-9 loss Saturday afternoon at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks, who improved to 11-3 this season, have now won 13 of the last 14 matches against the Mids, including seven in a row in Bethlehem.

"We wrestled a very good Lehigh team who, top to bottom, is solid and has really no weaknesses," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had some injuries and certainly I would have like to have seen how we would have competed with those guys in the lineup. That said, we can't use that as an excuse. You have to wrestle the best you can with the hand you are dealt."

Navy sophomore 125-pounder Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) provided an early boost for the Mids, as he earned a 4-0 win over John McDonald. Kalil took a quick lead in the match with a takedown and rode out McDonald for over two minutes. However, McDonald would erase the riding time deficit keeping Kalil tight to the mat in the second period. Kalil sealed the win late in the final period with his second takedown to improve to 13-8 overall and 2-1 in dual action this season.

"Aaron did a good job of getting us started off on a good note," added Burnett. "He's really worked hard in the wrestling room and we are beginning to see it pay dividends."

Navy's 3-0 lead, however, would be its last, as a Matt Fisk pin at 133 pounds was the first of three straight Lehigh wins. In addition to Fisk's fall over Navy sophomore Pat McCaffrey (Chicago, Ill.), 17th-ranked Seth Ciasulli scored a major decision over Navy senior Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.), 14-5, and Joey Napoli just edged second-year 149-pounder John Majka (Chicago, Ill.), 4-3.

Junior All-American Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) ended the skid for the Mids, as the nation's eighth-ranked 157-pounder delivered a 10-3 loss to the Mountain Hawks' Sean Bilodeau to narrow the gap to 13-6 at intermission.

"Bryce continues to get bigger and stronger at 157 pounds," said Burnett. "He's settled into that weight class and is now flourishing. He really had an outstanding match this afternoon."

But the momentum swing would be short-lived, as Lehigh once again used a pin, this time by 165-pounder Brandon Hatchett, as a springboard for wins in the next four matches (165, 174, 184, 197) and put the match out of reach for the Mids.

The final match of the evening, however, was perhaps the most anticipated bout of the evening as fifth-ranked Zach Rey of Lehigh was set to lock horns with Navy's Scott Steele (Towson, Md.), who is ranked ninth. Steele put together an escape and a takedown to hold a 3-1 advantage heading into the final period of action. Though Rey was able to pull within one with an escape, Steele held off the higher-seeded Rey for the 3-2 win.

"Having wrestled just a handful of matches since coming back to the Academy, this was probably Scott's toughest opponent he has faced," said Burnett. "He did a great job out there upsetting a higher ranked wrestler. He's looked great since coming back from his shoulder injury and certainly he looked solid today.

"We had some good performances today, some fight in us. Warriors want to be in the fight, but I'm not sure we had a full team of warriors today. All we can ask for is for every one of our wrestlers to compete and for the most part we did. We've got time to fix some of those things that went awry, but certainly our schedule doesn't get any easier."

In fact, Navy will play host to No. 8 Maryland next Friday night (7:00 pm) at Halsey Field House in what has turned in to a fierce rivalry in recent years. The Terps have won two in a row against the Mids, including a narrow 21-18 decision when Maryland last visited Halsey Field House in 2008. Navy will also battle North Carolina (3:00 pm) and NC State (7:00 pm) next Saturday at Halsey Field House.

No. 9 Lehigh 28, Navy 9Jan. 16, 2010 • Bethlehem, Pa.
125 - Aaron Kalil (N) dec. John McDonald (L), 4-0               3-0133 - #14 Matt Fisk (L) pinned Pat McCaffrey N), 2:46           3-6141 - #17 Seth Ciasulli (L) major dec. Matt Pagan (N), 14-5     3-10149 - Joey Napoli (L) dec. John Majka (N), 4-3                  3-13157 - #8 Bryce Saddoris (N) dec. Sean Bilodeau (L), 10-3   6-13165 - Brandon Hatchett (L) pinned Robby Neill (N), 3:55         6-19174 - #18 Robert Hamlin (L) dec. Matt DeMichiel (N), 10-4       6-22184 - #15 David Craig (L) dec. Greg Prioleau (N), 6-1           6-25197 - Joe Kennedy (L) dec. Charles Carafano (N), 7-0            6-28285 - #9 Scott Steele (N) dec. #5 Zach Rey (L), 3-2             9-28