Jan. 29, 2010

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Riding a three match winning streak, the 5-1 Navy wrestling team will look to extend its good fortune Saturday night when the Mids travel to New Jersey to battle a red-hot Rutgers squad (14-4-1) at the College Ave. Gym beginning at 6:00 pm.

After dropping a tough dual against EIWA foe Lehigh, the Mids have built a full head of steam in the last week by upsetting then seventh-ranked Maryland, 19-14, on Friday followed by back-to-back wins over North Carolina (21-1+5) and NC State (38-3) on Saturday in Annapolis. Now boasting a 5-1 dual match record, the Mids have caught the attention of coaches around the country as Navy received votes in the poll for the first time since the preseason tabulations. Navy, who predominately wrestles at team and open tournaments during the early months, kicked off the dual season on Jan. 8 with an 18-17 win over American and followed up with a 28-12 victory at East Stroudsburg.

Meanwhile, Rutgers heads into its match Friday evening against 23rd-ranked Virginia touting a 10-match unbeaten streak that includes a 28-10 win over Army.

"Rutgers is really a solid team from weight class to the next," said Navy's Bruce Burnett, who is looking for his 96th win as a collegiate head coach. "I think their record certainly reflects that, though I'm not sure that the level of competition that they've faced is the same as what we have.

"It's going to be a tough go for us this weekend, but we've risen to the occasion before. I think we need to pick up a win where we on paper aren't supposed to. It's certainly a situation where it may come down to bonus points."

Saturday's bout will feature a handful of ranked wrestlers, as well several grapplers who appear on the season's first edition of the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Coaches Panel Rankings released last week. While one wrestler from either Navy or Rutgers appears at each of the weight classes in the coaches panel rankings, the only weight in which both have wrestlers ranked is heavyweight. Navy's Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) boasts a 10-1 record and heads into the weekend with a six-match winning streak that features a win over Lehigh's Zach Rey who was ranked No. 5 at the time of the bout. Steele is ranked fifth in the national rankings and sixth according to the coaches panel rankings. Meanwhile, Rutgers' Dominick `D.J.' Russo stands 10th nationally with a 23-4 record, including a 16-1 dual mark. Additionally, he is ranked ninth via the coaches panel rankings.

"Something that people don't think about is how big of a learning curve it is for a wrestler to get back into things when they've been away for a year," said Burnett. "The competition is different and you have to fine tune your tactics, strategy, mat play. Basically you have to be mat savvy and that doesn't just come back overnight. I think he's done a great job since coming back in late December."

Unbeknownst to the Navy coaches, sophomore 125-pound Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) was left off the coaches panel rankings despite a 16-8 record (5-1 dual) that includes a win over Maryland's James Knox. After dropping his dual opener to 20th-ranked Jasen Borschoff, Kalil has won five straight duals. Five of his eight losses this season are against foes who were nationally-ranked at the time, two of them by decided by one point. Kalil will square off against Scarlet Knight redshirt freshman Joseph Langel, who has amassed a 21-5 record and is 26th in the coaches panel rankings.

"Aaron is wrestling very well right now and is just a tough kid," added Burnett. "He does have a number of losses, but if you look to the coaches panel rankings, he has losses to seven guys that are currently ranked. So he hasn't lost any easy ones. This is a big match on Saturday and while he's still making some mistakes, he's been getting better at recognizing and fixing those errors."

Fresh off his 100th-collegiate win is Navy junior Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) who stands 22-9 at 157 pounds this season. Saddoris has won four in a row, including avenging a pair of losses earlier in the year to nationally-ranked Thomas Scotton of North Carolina. Saddoris, ranked seventh nationally and eighth according to the coaches panel rankings, earned a 4-1 win over the Tar Heel last Saturday in front of a home crowd, sealing the win in the waning moments of the match. He will lock horns Saturday night against redshirt junior Daryl Cocozzo, who owns a 19-8 record.

Burnett is hopeful he will have freshman Andrew Buck (Carson, Wash.) back in the lineup at 184 pounds after sitting out the last four matches. Buck was injured on Jan. 15 after Shane Mallory performed an illegal slam to the mat, leaving Buck on the sidelines for the last few weeks. The Kelso High School product owns a 13-7 overall record, including a 2-0 dual match mark. He is ranked 33rd in the coaches panel rankings.

Senior captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) and junior Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.) are also among the coaches panel rankings at their respective weights. Shober, who owns a 15-11 record, is ranked 32nd at 149 pounds, while Neill, who is 16-11 and has back-to-back wins, is 32nd at 165 pounds.

If the match, indeed, is split on paper, what will be the deciding factor?

"There's no difference between the schools in terms of many of the fatigue factors," said Burnett. "Wrestlers from both schools are mentally tired, they are coming off finals and have the stress of preparing for the new semester, they injuries and weight management issues. It's the wrestlers who are strong enough to carry the weight of everything that has been put on their shoulders who you will see succeed. There are a lot of people who say that this sport is 90 percent mental. They are right on in my opinion. We need to be mentally tough this weekend."

The Midshipmen own a commanding 20-3 advantage in the series, however, the Scarlet Knights edged out Navy by one last year in Annapolis, 18-17. Navy has never lost to Rutgers in its 10 trips to New Brunswick.

Navy Projected Lineup125 - Aaron Kalil (16-8, Salem, N.H., So.)133 - Pat McCaffrey (12-10, Chicago, Ill, So.)141 - Matt Pagan (18-12, Carteret, N.J., Sr.)149 - Glenn Shober (15-11, Reading, Pa., Sr.)157 - #7 Bryce Saddoris (22-9, Spring Creek, Nev., Jr.)165 - Robby Neill (16-11, Brick, N.J., Jr.)174 - Mike Billings (11-9, Waterford, Mich., Sr.)184 - Andrew Buck (13-7, Carson, Wash., Fr.) or Greg Prioleau (3-7, Poway, Calif., Jr.)197 - Charles Carafano (8-7, Germantown, Md., Sr.)HWT - #5 Scott Steele (10-1, Towson, Md., Sr.)
Rutgers Projected Lineup125 - Vincent Dellefave (5-4, Fr. Toms River, N.J.) or Joseph Langel III (21-5, R-Fr Howell, N.J.)133 - Bill Ashnault (19-8, Jr. South Plainfield, N.J.)141 - Trevor Melde (20-5, So. Hewitt, N.J.) or Luke Rigoglisio (4-6, Fr. Wayne, N.J.)149 - David Greenwald (14-8, R-Jr. Union, N.J.) or Kellen Bradley (12-7, Sr. Newton, N.J.)157 - Daryl Cocozzo (19-8, R-Jr. River Edge, N.J.)165 - Gregory Zannetti (16-8, So. Edison, N.J.) or Matthew Rigoglisio (5-5, Sr. Wayne, N.J)174 - Daniel Rinaldi (21-6, R-Fr Lodi, N.J.)184 - Daniel Seidenberg (13-11, Fr. Red Bank, N.J.) or Jesse Boyden (9-10, R-Fr. Kenilwoth, N.J.)197 - Lamar Brown (17-5, R-Sr. Red Bank, N.J.)HWT - #10 Dominick Russo III (23-4, R-Jr. Netcong, N.J.)