ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A thrilling 5-1 extra-frame victory by Navy wrestling team captain Nicholas Gil (Crystal Lake, Ill.) in Thursday evening's final bout against American (5-4, 5-2) knotted the dual at 18 points apiece. The Eagles, however, were awarded the win based on the first criteria in the tie-breaker which is total number of wins - six by American and 4 by Navy.

The Highlights
• There were three lead changes over the course of the match.
• American won the first two matches of the evening (149 and 157), before a pin by sophomore 165-pound Tanner Skidgel knotted the match at 6.
• Navy took its first lead (9-6) following the fourth match thanks to a 7-3 win by 20th-ranked Spencer Carey over Connor Allshouse.
• American won three of the final four matches to take the lead once again (18-15) with one match remaining.
• It was the fourth straight year Navy has had a match decided by a tie-breaker. The Mids are just 1-3 in matches decided by tie-breakers (lost 19-18 to Old Dominion in 2016; defeated Duke, 18-17, in 2017; lost to Duke, 23-22, in 2018).
• Navy is now 13-2 all-time against American, including 5-2 in matches against the Eagles wrestled in Annapolis.
• Six senior members of the wrestling team and their families were honored prior to the start of the match. It marked the final home dual of the season for the Mids.
• Jared Prince (149) had his seven-match winning streak, which dated back to the Southern Scuffle, snapped by AU's Michael Sprague in the evening's first match. After a scoreless one-minute sudden victory, Sprague was able to ride out Prince in the first 30-second tie-breaker. Prince, however, was unable to keep Sprague under wraps and with 19 seconds left in the period, Sprague posted the match-winning point with an escape.
• First-year starter Tanner Skidgel (165) fell behind quickly in his match against Anthony Wokasch, as Wokasch recorded a takedown and a four-point nearfall within the first 15 seconds of the match. Skidgel reversed the hold and trimmed the deficit to four by the end of the first period. He kept his composure and turned the momentum in the second period where he went on to earn the win by fall at 3:23.
• Spencer Carey (174) and Joshua Roetman (197) both earned thier 21st wins of the season which stands as the second-most wins on the team behind Nicholas Gil.
• Roetman, who pinned Prince Hyeamang with 45 seconds remaining in his match, is the ONLY Navy starter who is undefeated in dual action this season, as he is 8-0 on the year.
• 15th-ranked Nicholas Gil (141) improved to 24-5 on the year, including 6-2 in dual action, with a 5-1 victory over Jack Mutchnik in the first tie-breaker. After a scoreless one-minute sudden victory, Gil successfully rode out Mutchnick in the first 30-second tie-breaker. In the second 30-second tie-breaker, Gil was awarded the go-ahead point on what was Mutchnik's second stall warning of the match. Gil tacked on a point with an escape and earned a takedown at the buzzer to post the 5-1 victory.  
• The win by Gil was the 102nd of his career, moving him into a tie for 13th place alongside Luke Rebertus who amassed 102 wins from 2009-12. Gil needs one win to take sole possession of 13th and four to tied 12th-place Ed Prendergast (2005-08).

Thoughts from the Coach
• A lot of valuable lessons learned at 125 tonight. We have been knocking on the door of the NCAA coaches rankings and tonight's fight showed a young and talented wrestler who definitely belong ups there and that he has the ability to be an NCAA qualifier this year. I know Jacob is disappointed, but when he puts together seven minutes the way he wrestled in three-and-a-half minutes of tonight's match, he will turn the corner and climb very quickly.

• Casey Cobb had a talented opponent and we had a good game plan. He fought out of some tough positions and gave himself the opportunity to win the match. He, too, can take away from the match some areas that he needs to address in order to make another big jump.

• Nick Gil worked very hard tonight and is such a smart and talented wrestler that it's hard to find ways to slow him down. He really left a great effort out on the mat tonight in a battle of wills.

• Jared Prince was challenged to step up and start the ball rolling. He is a great athlete and did not put the match in his positions enough.  The takeaway for him is to force wrestling into your areas, compete at your pace and keep your opponent reacting to your go-to skills. Jared is very diverse in his absolutes and he just did not get into enough positions where he dominates the competition.

• Quentin Hovis has been advancing in his performance and tonight was a setback for him in terms of result. That being said, I saw something in his eyes, a pain or hurt, that has not been there.  He took tonight personal and knows he has more ability than what he was able to perform with today.  It was hard for him, but I don't feel bad. He needs to know the hurt and do what he needs to do to move past the close matches and perform like a top-tier athlete which he is.

• Tanner Skidgel was impressive in his demeanor tonight. He went out and got into a deep hole on the scoreboard, but never changed his attitude or his effort. He is a very talented young man, who has a long list of achievements. His composure tonight was a true STAY THE COURSE mental attitude. His relentless, aggressive style and gritty swagger had the crowd engaged. Earning a pin after getting out to a rough start takes guts to keep believeing in yourself, the system and the eventual outcome. He wanted that pin and his will made it happen.

• Spencer Carey is loading up again and I can see him climbing back to what has made him a top-20 competitor.  He has the tools and tonight we saw him wrestling more wide open than we have the last couple weeks. He's such a steady rock and grinds people like a blade against a stone.

• Anthony Cable will continue to improve and he had an opportunity against a ranked opponent tonight. He will decide that it's time to step up and put his name in the hat for going to Pittsburg next month. When he sees it happening, he will have every opportunity to make his own destiny. It's in there, he just has to let it out and show the world.

• Joshua Roetman was a machine tonight and wrestled in very good position. His energy looked great and his position was dominant. He gave us a big team push by commanding position and putting his opponent away in a committed position. He looked like he was having fun and great things happen when you let yourself have fun!

• Thomas Ott wrestled with a lot of heart and fell behind by a takedown that he was unable to recover from. His small group coach has been working some great setups that will get him in to the legs. Once he secures the leg, he is very aggressive on his finishes. He has some great takeaways that will help him reach toward attaining his goals as we close out the regular season and advance to the conference tournament.

What's Ahead
• The Midshipmen will travel to West Point next Saturday to battle archrival Army in the annual Star Match.
• Action is set to begin at 4:00 pm at Christl Arena.
• Navy leads the series 49-8-5, including a 20-5-3 mark in matches wrestled at West Point.

American 19, Navy 18
* American awarded the victory by the first tie-breaker criteria - number of wins (6 by American, 4 by Navy)
149 | Michael Sprague dec #20 Jared Prince (NAVY), 7-6 TB1
157 | Kizhan Clarke dec over Quentin Hovis (NAVY), 3-1
165 | Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) fall over Anthony Wokasch, 3:23
174 | #20 Spencer Carey (NAVY) dec over Connor Allshouse, 7-3
184 | Tanner Harvey dec over Anthony Cable (NAVY) , 4-0
197 | Joshua Roetman (NAVY) fall over Prince Hyeamang, 6:15
285 | Niko Camacho dec over Thomas Ott (NAVY), 3-1
125 | Gage Curry dec over Jacob Allen (NAVY), 7-6
133 | Josh Terao dec over Casey Cobb (NAVY), 4-1
141 | #15 Nicholas Gil (NAVY) dec over Jack Mutchnik, 5-1 TB1

### Go Navy ###