March 16, 2011

Schedule of Events
Thursday, March 17
Session 1 (Pigtails, Round of 32): 11:00 am
Session 2 (Round of 16, Wrestleback Prelims): 6:30 pm pm

Friday, March 18
Session 3 (Quarterfinals, Wrestlebacks): 10:30 am
Session 4 (Semifinals, Wrestlebacks): 7:00 pm

Saturday, March 19
Session 5 (Consolation Semifinals, Medal Rounds 3rd-8th): 11:00 am
Session 6 (Championship Finals): 7:30 pm

Additional Events of Interest
Thursday, March 17
• NCAA Fan Festival 1:00-6:30 pm
• USA Wrestling Team All-Star Dual Meet 3:00-4:00 pm
• Wrestling Trivia Contest 3:30-4:15 pm
• "Family Ties" Wrestling Hall of Fame Presentation 4:30-5:15 pm
• Wrestling Families Autograph Session 5:15-6:00 pm
Friday, March 18
• NCAA Fan Festival 1:00-7:00 pm
• USA Wrestling Team Practice 2:00-3:30 pm
• Wrestling Trivia Contest 2:30-3:15 pm
• Hall of Fame Wrestlers Autograph Session 3:15-4:00 pm
• USA Wrestling Autograph Session 4:00-4:45 pm
• Semifinals Preview Show 5:00-6:00 pm
Saturday, March 19
• NWCA Coaches Clinic 9:00-10:30 am
• NCAA Fan Festival 1:00-7:00 pm
• USA Wrestling Team Practice 3:00-4:30 pm
• Wrestling Trivia Contest (Finals) 4:30-5:00 pm
• Hall of Fame Wrestlers Autograph Session 5:15-6:15 pm
• Parade of All-Americans 7:05-7:20 pm


The Road to the 81st NCAA Wrestling Championship
• Four members of the Navy wrestling team will begin their quest for a national title on Thursday morning when they journey up to Philadelphia for the 81st NCAA Wrestling Championship held at the Wells Fargo Center. Session 1 of the tournament is set to begin at 11:00 am.
• Representing Navy are 2009 All-American and four-time NCAA selection Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) (157), along with two-time qualifiers junior Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) (125) and junior Luke Rebertus (Gloucester, Va.) (184). Meanwhile, making his NCAA Championship debut is senior Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.)(174).
• All four of Navy's NCAA qualifiers earned automatic berths via their placement at the EIWA Championship held at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pa., on March 5-6. Saddoris and DeMichiel were the runners-up at their respective weight classes, while Kalil finished third and Rebertus took fourth.
• Saddoris is the lone Navy wrestler who received a seed ... he was awarded the No. 7 seed.
• Navy has placed among the top 25 in three of the last four championships, including back-to-back 18th-place finishes in 2007 and '08 which is its best placement since 1990 when Navy finished 13th.
• The program's best finish in NCAA Tournament action was a fourth-place finish in 1954.
• Navy has won three national titles, by two men - Pete Blair won the 191-pound title in 1954 and `55, while Dan Muthler earned the crown in 1973 at 142 pounds.
• At least one Navy wrestler has participated in the NCAA Championship in each of the last 15 years, including all 11 under head coach Bruce Burnett.
• This is Navy's 63rd NCAA Tournament appearance ... in addition to winning three individual titles, 60 wrestlers have garnered All-America recognition, including nine under Bruce Burnett's direction ... among those All-Americans, Mark Conley, Matt Stolpinski and Joe Baker garnered honors multiple times during Burnett's tenure.
• After earning All-America recognition as a sophomore, Saddoris is looking to be crowned a two-time All-American ... should he accomplish the feat, he would be only the 16th wrestler in program history to claim All-America recognition multiple times.



125 - Aaron Kalil, Jr. (29-9, 6-1 dual)
• Unseeded, Kalil will face the winner of the Ryan Mango (Stanford) vs. Camden Eppert (Purdue) match in his opening-round bout. Ranked 11th by Intermat, Mango, a sophomore, received the No. 7 seed in the tournament and owns a 21-4 record, while Eppert is a redshirt freshman, who managed just a 13-15 record and placed fifth at the Big Ten Championship.
• Making his second-straight NCAA Championship appearance ... dropped back-to-back decisions to Wyoming's Michael Martinez and Minnesota's Zachary Sanders at last year's tournament.
• Holds a 6-8 record against the field, including a 2-5 mark in his half of the bracket.
• Owns an 0-2 career record at the NCAA Championship.
• Placed third at the EIWA Championship to earn and automatic bid to participate in the NCAA Championship ... last year he received an at-large berth.
• His 29 wins this winter are tied as the most wins at that weight class in program history ... two years ago Prescott Garner, who now wrestles at Chattanooga, set the record as a freshman ... Kalil is just one win shy of becomming the 27th different Navy wrestler to win 30 matches in a single season.
• Over three seasons he has amassed a 68-39 record and is closing in on the Mids' all-time top-25 wins list.

157 - Bryce Saddoris, Sr. (33-6, 7-1 dual)
• Perhaps the most decorated wrestler in Naval Academy history, Saddoris is a four-time NCAA qualifier ... one of just six wrestlers in school history to make four trips to the NCAA Championship and the second under head coach Bruce Burnett.
• Earned the automatic berth this season by placing as the runner-up for the second-consecutive year at the EIWA Championship.
• Navy's lone seeded wrestler, Saddoris received the No. 7 seed and has drawn Illinois' Jackson Morse as his first-round opponent. A freshman who placed seventh at the Big Ten Championship, Morse owns a 22-11 record and was one of four wrestlers at 157 pounds to receive an at-large bid.
• Having faced 12 competitors in the bracket this season, he owns a 9-5 record against the field.
• Placed sixth at the 2009 NCAA Championship to garner All-America honors.
• Owns a 4-6 career record at the NCAA Championship -- 0-2 in 2008, 3-2 in 2009, 1-2 in 2010
• Became Navy's all-time winningest wrestler with his opening-round victory over Bucknell's Brantley Hooks at the 2011 EIWA Championship on March 5 ... has amassed a 143-38 record over four seasons ... former teammate Matt Stolpinski had been Navy's record holder with 141 wins between 2005-08.
• Saddoris has wrestled 181 matches as Navy, just three off the record that is held by Stolpinski.
• Posting a 22-3 record in matches won by fall, Saddoris owns the 15th-most pin falls in school history.
• Stands as the only wrestler in program history to win 30 or more matches in all four years ... 35-12 in 2008, 43-8 in 2009, 32-12 in 2010, 33-6 in 2011.
• His 33 wins this season are the third most by a Navy wrestler at this weight class ... John Jarred (2005-06) and Tyrone Neal (1998-99) hold the record with 35 victories at 157 pounds.
• Heads into the tournament as the only Navy wrestler who has won 30-plus matches this season.

174 - Matt DeMichiel, Sr. (24-7, 4-1 dual)
• Boasting a 6-4 record against the NCAA field, DeMichiel is a first-time NCAA qualifier
• Punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship by way of his second-place finish at the EIWA Championship.
• Unseeded, he will battle 10th-seeded Nick Heflin of Ohio State, a freshman who holds a 20-7 record and finished as the runner-up at the Big Ten Championship.
• Came back from a gruesome leg injury he suffered last January against North Carolina.
• Has compiled an 84-45 record over the past four seasons and is ranked 22nd on the Mids' all-time wins list ... he is three short of tying 20th-place Justin Woodruff (1997-00) and Brett Bourne (1989-91).

184 - Luke Rebertus, Jr. (29-9, 6-2 dual)
• Making his second appearance in the NCAA Championship, Rebertus just missed the cut for seeding and will meet Gardner Webb's Jonathan Velazquez in the first round ... Velazquez is a senior who has wrestled in just 11 matches this season and qualified out of the East Regional. A win by Rebertus, however, would likely pit him against the nation's No. 1-ranked wrestler, Edinboro's Chris Honeycutt, who is one of eight top-seeded wrestlers who are undefeated this season.
• Placed fourth at the EIWA Championship to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.
• Rebertus owns a 6-6 record against the field, including a 6-4 loss against Honeycutt whom he faced at the Southern Scuffle.
• Owns a 2-2 career record at the NCAA Championship.
• Just one win short of reaching 30 wins for the second time in his career ... won 36 matches his rookie campaign, the second most by a freshman in school history.
• The 29 wins this season are the fourth most in program history at 184 pounds ... the record is 33 set by Antonio Miranda in 2007.
• Over the last three seasons he has put together a 71-22 record and is less than 10 wins away from joining Navy's all-time top-25 wins leader board.

### Go Navy ###