Jan. 9, 2016 BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Tenth-ranked Lehigh (8-1, 3-0 EIWA) showed its strength and depth on Saturday afternoon, dealing the Navy wrestling team (5-1, 1-1 EIWA) its first dual loss of the season, 34-3. While Navy controlled the third period in nearly every match and lost four matches by two or fewer points, the Mids were unable to overcome the deficit in what was their fourth straight loss to the Mountain Hawks.

"There were a lot of lessions learned by our team today," said second-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "You have to be brilliant in the basics of each position - offense, defense, top, bottom and the edge of the mat.

"We have some great young men who are working hard and remain commited to finding a way to leading this program to the top."

Lehigh won the first six bouts, including narrow victories at 133 and 149 pounds. While Lehigh senior Mason Beckman led from the opening whistle in his match against Navy 133-pound Zack Davis (Granger, Ind.), the second-year Mid cut his foe's lead to one (4-3) by the end of the second period. Davis made the decision to cut Beckman loose at the start of the final period in hopes of getting the match-tying takedown, but would fall short in a 5-3 decision.

"Zack is very close to breaking out for us at 133 pounds," said Sharratt. "He is definitely capable of pushing through to that next level."

Meanwhile, sophomore 149-pound Corey Wilding (Pittsburgh, Pa.) put together a gutsy third period to nearly knock off Lehigh sophomore Cortlandt Schuyler, son of former Navy assistant wrestling coach Pete Schuyler. Though Wilding jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the opening period, Schuyler managed an escape followed by a takedown and four-point nearfall to turn the match in his favor, 8-2 in the second. Wilding would trail 9-6 with under a minute to go in the match when the official called Schuyler for his second stall, while Wilding took Schuyler to the mat to knot the match with 34 seconds left. Schuyler, however, would score the go-ahead point (10-9) with an escape with 20 seconds remaining and fought off Wilding's last-second effort for a takedown.

"Corey continues to make strides and is relentless in his commitment," added Sharratt.

The Mids got their lone win of the match from 17th-ranked Jadaen Bernstein (Glen Gardner, N.J.) at 174 pounds. There was some question as to whether Bernstein would wrestle after bowing out of the Southern Scuffle a week ago with an injury. Bernstein looked strong in the early minutes of the match and held a five-point advantage with 1:33 left in his bout against Gordon Wolf. That final period, however, would be a wild one as 17 points would be recorded between the two wrestlers. Wolf tied the match at 16 apiece with a takedown with 37 seconds remaining, but Bernstein would get a reversal 20 seconds later to take the two-point advantage. Wolf would get free just seconds later and Bernstein was able to hold off Wolf for the 18-17 win.

"Jadaen battled through a challenging week and as one of the team leaders, he was able to overcome injuries and illness to get a victory today. There's nothing pretty about it, he just finds a way to win."

The next two matches would also go down to the wire with backups for both teams battling at 184 pounds and 15th-ranked John Bolich avoiding an upset by the Mids' Michael Woulfe (Oak Park, Ill.) at 197. Sophomore Robert Mannier (Troy, Ohio) dropped a 5-3 decision to Lehigh senior Elliott Riddick, while Bolich earned a 3-2 decision over Woulfe.

"Michael has been recognized as a top 20 competitor and if he finishes a low single in his match today, he validates that with another victory over a nationally-ranked opponent."

The Midshipmen will be back in action next Friday when they play host to Drexel. Action is set for 7:00 pm at Alumni Hall and the match will be streamed live via NavySports.com and PatriotLeague.TV(.)

#10 Lehigh def. Navy, 34-3
125 - #13 Darian Cruz (L) major dec Brant Leadbeter (N) 17-6
133 - Mason Beckman (L) dec Zack Davis (N) 5-3
141 - #19 Randy Cruz (L) dec Nicholas Gil (N) 6-1
149 - Cortlandt Schuyler (L) dec Corey Wilding (N) 10-9
157 - Ian Brown (L) dec Jonathan Carrera (N) 10-3
165 - #16 Ryan Preisch (L) fall John Keck (N) 5:47
174 - #17 Jadaen Bernstein (N) dec Gordon Wolf (L) 18-17
184 - Elliott Riddick (L) dec Robert Mannier (N) 5-3
197 - #15 John Bolich (L) dec Michael Woulfe (N) 3-2
285 - Max Wessell (P) fall Nick Mabry (N) 1:31


### Go Navy ###