Jan. 30, 2010

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NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- The Navy wrestling team (5-2) had its three-match winning streak snapped Saturday night as the 16-4-1 Rutgers Scarlet Knights won seven of the 10 matches to earn a 23-10 victory over the Mids at the College Ave Gym in New Brunswick, N.J. Rutgers is unbeaten in its last 12 duals and knocked of No. 23 Virginia Friday night before battling Navy.

"We came out a little flat and got out-hustled in some matches that we had a chance to win," said a disappointed Bruce Burnett, head coach of the Midshipmen. "I thought our guys were ready to go and they weren't. I didn't have them ready to wrestle like they need to be, so I will take responsibility for this one. Rutgers has a good team, but we certainly could have performed better than we did. We had our opportunities, but just didn't get it done."

Saturday's dual began at 174 pounds with sophomore Daniel Rinaldo dealing the Mids' Mike Billings (Waterford, Mich.) a 3-0 loss. But Navy knotted up the match thanks to a 5-1 victory by rookie 184-pound Andrew Buck (Carson, Wash.), who returned to the mat for the first time since sustaining an injury against East Stroudsburg on Jan. 15 after an illegal slam to the mat. Buck, ranked 33rd in the NCAA Wrestling Coaches Panel Rankings, is now 14-7 overall and 3-0 in dual action after defeating RU's Daniel Seidenberg.

"It was great to have Andrew back on the mat and while I know that he wasn't at 100 percent, he competed hard," said Burnett. "That's what I ask of our wrestlers and he did a great job of pushing things."

The Scarlet Knights, however, would go on to win the next six bouts, including back-to-back one-point decisions at 197 and heavyweight to take a 23-3 lead. After knocking off 17th-ranked Brent Jones of Virginia on Friday evening, Rutgers senior used his momentum to edge Navy senior Charles Carafano (Germantown, Md.) at 197 pounds. Meanwhile, Rutgers' Dominick Russo utilized more than two minutes of riding time to upset fifth-ranked Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) in the heavyweight match, 7-6. For Steele, it was just his second loss of the year (10-2) and his first dual loss of the 2009-10 campaign.

Dropping his first match since his dual opener on Jan. 8, sophomore Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) dropped a 9-5 decision to Rutgers' Joseph Langel at 125 pounds. Ranked 26th in the NCAA Wrestling Coaches Panel Rankings, Langel has won 13 consecutive matches, while Kalil is now 16-9 overall and 5-2 in dual competitions.

With the match already decided, the Mids claimed the final two bouts of the night. Junior 157-pound Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.), ranked seventh in the national polls, scored a major decision over Kellen Bradley, 12-2, to stretch his winning streak to five in a row. Now 23-9 overall and 5-1 in dual action, Saddoris stands 101-29 over his three-year career.

Junior Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.), meanwhile, picked up a quality win at 165 pounds by defeating Gregory Zannetti, 2-1, in overtime. Wrestling in front of several friends and family members, Neill has now won three in a row and is now 5-2 in dual competitions and 17-11 overall.

"I thought Robby would wrestle well going back to New Jersey," added Burnett. "He's really been wrestling well these last few weeks and it was good to see him pull out a win tonight."

Navy will be back in action next Saturday when it hosts the All-Academy Championship. Air Force, Army, The Citadel, Coast Guard, the Merchant Marine Academy, Norwich and VMI will join Navy in the quest to win this year's title. Action is set to begin at 10:00 am at Halsey Field House.

Rutgers 23, Navy 10174    #28 Daniel Rinaldi (RU) dec. Mike Billings (Navy)           3-0184    #33 Andrew Buck (Navy) dec. Daniel Seidenberg (RU)          5-1197    #18 Lamar Brown (RU) dec. Charles Carafano (Navy)           3-2HWT    #10 Dominick Russo (RU) dec. #6 Scott Steele (Navy)         7-6125    #26 Joseph Langel (RU) dec. Aaron Kalil (Navy)              9-5133    #16 Billy Ashnault (RU) dec. Pat McCaffrey (Navy)           5-1141    #22 Trevor Melde (RU) tech. fall Matt Pagan (Navy)         18-2  (6:36)149    David Greenwald (RU) dec. #32 Glenn Shober (Navy)          10-8157    #8 Bryce Saddoris (Navy) major dec. Kellen Bradley (RU)    12-2165    #32 Robby Neill (Navy) dec. Gregory Zannetti (RU)           2-1 TB
# - NCAA Wrestling Coaches Panel Rankings