PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Despite a fast and furious rally on Saturday evening in its dual match at Drexel, the Navy wrestling team was unable recover from an early deficit and dropped a 24-16 decision to the host Dragons at Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Mids are now 1-1 on the season, while Drexel improved to 2-3 on the year.

"We wrestled a team that came out and got after it on the whistle. A slow start is a tough thing to over come as we found out in several of our first five bouts," said first-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt.

"We need to get each guy wrestling full speed, full force for all seven minutes to truly run our game plan against our competition. Walsh and Bernstein have exemplified line to line, whistle to whistle competition mindsets. I also thought Paul Rands had a solid performance tonight and he has continued to regain his March mindset. Wrestling requires a commitment to detail in every aspect of the game and we allowed some gaps in several aspects of our preparation and competition. Many of these can be planned for or taught in small group skill sessions, but we have to get everyone on the roster challenging each other every day in every position."

Drexel jumped out quickly on the Mids not only winning the first five matches, but winning three of the five by way of extra points. The Mids found themselves down 11-0 after the first two matches as Drexel sophomore Tanner Shoap earned a tech fall over Navy rookie 125-pound Brant Leadbeter (Owings, Md.), followed by 17th-ranked Kevin Devoy Jr.'s win by fall over 2014 NCAA qualifier Colton Rasche (Plano, Ill.) in under one minute at 133 pounds.

The Dragons held a 21-0 advantage through five matches when Navy team captain and 15th-ranked Peyton Walsh (Glen Allen, Va.) took the mat. Walsh, who has now won eight consecutive dual bouts dating back to last season, wore down Drexel freshman Nick Elmer and triggered what would be four straight victories by the Mids thanks to a 7-1 win.

Navy freshman Jadaen Bernstein (Glen Gardner, N.J.) pushed his dual record to 2-0 on the year by scoring early and often against fellow rookie Stephen Loiseau. Bernstein captured a 12-3 win over Loiseau at 174 pounds as Navy cut into the Dragon lead, 21-7.

Junior 184-pound Michael Woulfe (Oak Park, Ill.) was knotted up with Drexel sophomore Alex DeCiantis, 3-3, heading into the final period and went on to pin him with just 30 seconds left to get Navy within single digits. Meanwhile senior Paul Rands (Cary, Ill.) won the Mids' fourth straight match by way of a 4-3 win over freshman Joshua Murphy, as Navy trailed 21-16 with one match to go.

Navy heavyweight Colynn Cook (Murrysville, Pa.) put together a solid match, but would be denied at the end of the seven minutes with Drexel rookie Joey Goodhart posting the 4-3 victory and securing the Dragons' team win.

The Midshipmen will step aside from the mat for the remainder of the month before traveling to Chattanooga, Tenn. to take part in the annual Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2.


Drexel 24, Navy 16
125 - Tanner Shoap (D) tech fall Brant Leadbeter, 16-0
133 - #17 Kevin Devoy Jr (D) fall Colton Rasche, 0:57
141 - David Pearce (D) dec Patrick Prada, 6-1
149 - Matthew Cimato (D) major dec Corey Wilding (Navy), 12-0
157 - Noel Blanco (D) dec Drew Daniels (Navy), 4-1
165 - #15 Peyton Walsh (Navy) dec. Nick Elmer, 7-1
174 - Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) major dec Stephen Loiseau, 12-3
184 - Michael Woulfe (Navy) fall Alex DeCiantis, 6:30
197 - Paul Rands (Navy) dec Joshua Murphy, 4-3
285 - Joey Goodhart (D) dec Colynn Cook (Navy), 4-3

### Go Navy ###