The Navy wrestling team (6-4, 3-3 EIWA) travels to Vestal, N.Y. this weekend in its pursuit to win the 2019 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championship.  In addition to the team title and the 10 EIWA individual crowns, 47 automatic berths to the NCAA Championship (March 21-23 at PPG Paints Arena / Pittsburgh) are on the line.
 
Hosted by Binghamton, the Evenst Center will house the two-day, 16-team tournament which is set to begin on Friday with preliminaries starting at 11:00 am.  The tournament will proceed through the completion of the quarterfinals Saturday evening. Sunday's competition will feature the championship semifinals, the consolation semifinals and placement matches beginning at 10:00 am and the championship finals at 3:00 pm.  In addition to Navy, those teams competing this weekend include American, Army, Binghamton, Brown, Bucknell, Columbia, Cornell, Drexel, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Hofstra, Lehigh, Penn, Princeton and Sacred Heart.  

For those fans unable to attend the EIWA Championship, the EIWA has partnered with Flowrestling to provide streaming video coverage of the entire tournament via its subscription-based service, while free live results will also be available via Flowrestling.

The EIWA received 47 automatic bids to the NCAA Championship when the NCAA announced its qualifier allocations last week. Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data including Division I winning percentage, RPI and a coaches ranking. Wrestlers who fail to qualify this weekend will be eligible for one of 47 at-large berths which will be announced on Tuesday, March 6.  Automatic qualifier allocations for the EIWA are as follows:  4 at 125, 4 at 133, 3 at 141, 5 at 149, 6 at 157, 4 at 165, 5 at 174, 6 at 184, 6 at 197 and 4 at 285.

Four teams from the EIWA enter the weekend nationally ranked - #9 Cornell, #19 Princeton, #20 Lehigh and #23 Army - and 54 wrestlers from the conference appear in the latest NCAA Coaches Panel Rankings in what promises to be one of the most competitive tournaments in recent memory.  There are 11 wrestlers who appear among the top 10 in their respective weight classes, including top-ranked 141-pounder Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell, third-ranked 149-pounder Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton and third-ranked 197-pounder Patrick Brucki of Princeton. Of the 16 teams competing this weekend, 13 programs have at least one wrestler ranked among the top 33, while Army, Cornell and Lehigh leads the list with eight apiece.  Cornell has won the team title in 11 of the last 12 years with Lehigh knocking off the Big Red from their perch a year ago.

The Midshipmen, who placed fifth a year ago, are making their 79th appearance at the EIWA Championship and have won the team title 13 times. Columbia and Penn have appeared in every EIWA Championship, while Army and Navy both joined the conference in 1941. Navy is one of four teams to win the team title at least 10 times with Lehigh winning it the most - 35 times.  Navy has placed 439 wrestlers in past EIWA competitions — 104 champions, 89 runners-up.

Just three of Navy's 10 entrants have made at least one previous appearance at the EIWA Championship - Nicholas Gil (141), Jared Prince (149), Thomas Ott (285) - while Jacob Allen (125), Casey Cobb (133), Quentin Hovis (157), Tanner Skidgel (165), Spencer Carey (174), Anthony Cable (184) and Joshua Roetman (197) will make their EIWA debut on Friday.


The Schedule
Friday, March 8
Session 1:
11:00 AM: Championship First Round
2:15 PM:  First Round of Wrestlebacks

Session 2:
6:00 PM: Championship Quarterfinals
7:30 PM:  Second Round of Wrestlebacks

Saturday, March 9
Session 3:
10:00 AM:  Championship Semifinals / Wrestleback Quarterfinals
11:45 AM:  Wrestleback Semifinals
12:35 PM:  7th-place matches

Session 4:
2:30 PM:  EIWA Hall of Fame Ceremony
3:00 PM:  1st, 3rd and 5th-place matches

Live Results: Live results and match-by-match updates will be available Flowrestling
Video: Live coverage of the EIWA Championship will be shown on Flowrestling with a paid subscription

Ranked Wrestlers Competing (NCAA Coaches Panel Rankings, March 1)
125 - #7 Vitali Arujau, Cornell | #10 Pat Glory Princeton | #27 Trey Chalifoux, Army | #29 Carmen Ferrante, Penn | #33 Dylan Ryder, Hofstra
133 - #12 Charles Tucker, Cornell | #19 Josh Terao, American | #24 Brandon Paetzell, Lehigh | #29 Casey Cobb, Navy
141 - #1 Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell | #15 Nicholas Gil, Navy | #26 Corey Shie, Army | #30 Jack Mutchnik, American | #32 Marshall Keller, Princeton | #33 Ryan Pomrinca, Lehigh
149 - #3 Matthew Kolodzik, Princeton | #16 Anthony Artalona, Penn | #21Jared Prince, Navy | #27 Cortlandt Schuyler, Lehigh | #30 Parker Kropman, Drexel
157 - #12 Zach Hartman, Bucknell | #15 Josh Humphreys, Lehigh | #28 Luke Weiland, Army | #30 Dan Reed, Columbia | #32 Adam Santoro, Cornell
165 - #15 Ebed Jarrell, Drexel | #16 Jonathan Viruet, Brown | #22 Gordon Wolf, Lehigh | #27 Cael McCormick, Army | #30 Tanner Skidgel, Navy | #31 Laurence Kosoy, Columbia
174 - #5 Jordan Kutler, Lehigh | #15 Brandon Womack, Cornell | #18 Ben Harvey, Army | #19 Spencer Carey, Navy | #27 Travis Stefanik, Princeton
184 - #6 Ryan Preisch, Lehigh | #8 Maxwell Dean, Cornell | #11 Lou Deprez, Binghamton | #23 Noah Stewart, Army | #24 Christian LaFragola, Brown | #26 Tanner Harvey, American | #30 Kevin Parker, Princeton
197 - #3 Patrick Brucki, Princeton | #7 Rocco Caywood, Army | #9 Benjamin Honis, Cornell | #17 Stephen Loiseau, Drexel | #28 Drew Phipps, Bucknell | #29 Joshua Roetman, Navy
285 - #4 Jordan Wood, Lehigh | #21 Joseph Goodhart, Drexel | #22 Jeramy Sweany, Cornell | #30 Ben Sullivan, Army | #33 Ian Buttertbrodt, Brown

EIWA Championship Team Titles
Team / # / Years
Lehigh / 35 / 1927-28-29-31-32-33-34-35-38-39-40-47-48-59-61-62-64-66-67-75-76-77-79-80-83-85-88-95-00-02-03-04-05-06-18
Cornell / 25 / 1910-12-13-14-15-16-17-22-23-26-30-58-92-93-07-08-09-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17
Navy / 13 / 1943-44-45-46-68-69-70-72-74-82-84-86-90
Penn / 4 / 1996-97-98-99
Princeton / 3 / 1911-41-78
Army West Point / 1 / 1987
Harvard / 1 / 2001
American / 0 / ---
Binghamton / 0 / ---
Brown / 0 / ---
Bucknell / 0 / ---
Columbia / 0 / ---
Drexel / 0 / ---
Franklin & Marshall / 0 / ---
Hofstra / 0 / ---
Sacred Heart / 0 / ---
Co-champions in 1927-41-60

No longer members
Penn State / 16 / 1918-19-20-21-24-25-36-37-42-51-52-53-57-60-71-73
Syracuse / 8 / 1949-50-63-65-81-89-91-94
Yale / 7 / 1905-06-07-08-09-27-41
Pitt / 4 / 1954-55-56-60

Navy's Lineup
125 - Jacob Allen  |  Fr.  |  Poway, Calif.  |  First appearance at EIWA Championship
• 13-14 this season | 13-14 career
• #11 EIWA Preseed
• Making his first appearance at the EIWA Championship
• Produced a 9-8 tournament record this season, placing second at the Bearcat Open (at Binghamton) and second at the All-Acadmy Championship.

133 - Casey Cobb  |  So.  |  Nampa, Idaho  |  First appearance at EIWA Championship
• 22-9 this season | 22-9 career
• #4 EIWA Preseed
• #29 Coaches Panel Ranking | #28 RPI
• Making his first appearance at the EIWA Championship
• One of four Navy wrestlers to reach 20 wins this season
• Produced a 16-5 tournament record this season and includes title wins at the Navy Classic and the All-Academy Championship ... placed fourth at the Bearcat Open

141 - Nicholas Gil  |  Sr.  |  Crystal Lake, Ill.  |  2018-19 Team Captain  | 6-5 at EIWA Championship
• 25-5 this season | 103-38 career
• #2 EIWA Preseed
• #15 Coaches Panel Ranking | #7 RPI
• Will make his third appearance at the EIWA Championship ... put together a 3-3 mark to place sixth in 2016 as a freshman and qualify for the NCAA Championship ... posted a 3-2 mark to take fourth in 2018 as a junior and qualify for the NCAA Championship
• He owns an 18-3 tournament mark that includes a two title wins this season - Bearcat Open, Navy Classic - as well as a second-place mark at the All-Academy Championship (med default) and third at Southern Scuffle.
• Has produced a 2-2 record against ranked foes this season.
• One of four Navy wrestlers to reach 20 wins this season, he leads the team with his 25-5 mark.
• Has reached 20-plus wins in each of his four seasons at Navy.
• Ranked 13th on the Mids' all-time wins list with a 103-38 record ... trails 12th-place Ed Prendergast, a two-time EIWA Champion, who recorded 106 wins from 2005-08.

149 - Jared Prince  |  Jr.  |  Safety Harbor, Fla.  |  8-2 at EIWA Championship
• 16-8 this season | 63-23 career
• #T3 EIWA Preseed
• #23 Coaches Panel Ranking | #16 RPI
• Will make his third appearance at the EIWA Championship ... posted 4-1 marks in both 2017 and '18 to place third both times and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
• Enters the tournament having won eight of his last nine matches, dropping his lone match during that streak in TB1 to American's Michael Sprague
• Has posted a 12-5 tournament record this season, winning the All-Academy Championship, while placing seventh at the Southern Scuffle and eighth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

157 - Quentin Hovis  |  So.  |  Poway, Calif.  |  First appearance at EIWA Championship
• 9-10 this season | 25-16 career
• Making his first appearance at the EIWA Championship
• Won the All-Academy Championship

165 - Tanner Skidgel  |  So.  |  Tulsa, Okla.  |  First appearance at EIWA Championship
• 16-8 this season | 21-11 career
• #3 EIWA Preseed
• #30 Coaches Panel Ranking | #23 RPI
• Making his first appearance at the EIWA Championship
• Has amassed a 9-5 tournament record - won the All-Academy Championship and placed eighth at the Southern Scuffle
• Enters the tournament having won seven of his last eight matches with his lone loss during that stretch a 9-4 loss to nationally-ranked Ebed Jarrell of Drexel.
• Captured his first career win over a ranked wrestler in his last match, defeating then 20th-ranked Cael McCormick of Army, 4-0.

174 - Spencer Carey  |  Jr.  |  Ringwood, N.J.  |  First appearance at EIWA Championship
• 21-12 this season | 36-22 career
• #4 EIWA Preseed
• #19 Coaches Panel Ranking | #24 RPI
• Making his first appearance at the EIWA Championship
• One of four Navy wrestlers to reach 20 wins this season, it's his first season as a starter and first he has won more than nine matches.
• Totaled a 16-8 tournament record a featured a second-place finish at the All-Academy Championship and a pair of fifth-place marks at the Navy Classic and Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

184 - Anthony Cable  |  Sr.  |  Poolesville, Md.  |  First appearance at EIWA Championship
• 16-13 this season | 22-21 career
• #9 EIWA Preseed
• After posting a 6-8 record as a freshman, did not see any action as a sophomore or junior due to injuries.
• In his first year as a starter, has put together a 16-13 record, including a 13-6 mark in tournament action.
• Won his first career tournament title by running the table at the All-Academy Championship, placed fourth at the Bearcat Open and took sixth at the Navy Classic.

197 - Joshua Roetman  |  Jr.  |  Kotzebue, Alaska  |  First appearance at EIWA Championship
• 21-8 this season | 36-20 career
• #5 EIWA Preseed
• #29 Coaches Panel Ranking | #21 RPI
• Making his first appearance at the EIWA Championship
• One of four Navy wrestlers to reach 20 wins this season, it's his first season as a starter and first he has double-digit wins.
• Enters the weekend having won nine of his last 11 matches.
• Amassed a 13-7 mark in tournaments, taking third at the Navy Classic and All-Academy Championship and eighth at the Southern Scuffle.
• Put together an 8-1 dual meet mark.

285 - Thomas Ott  |  Sr.  |  Lewes, Del.  |  1-2 at EIWA Championship
• 10-14 this season | 28-42 career
• #T10 EIWA Preseed
• Made his first appearance at the EIWA Championship as a sophomore in 2017 where he posted a 1-2 record.

### Go Navy ###