After trading wins in the first two matches, a 6-4 sudden victory by Lehigh's Ryan Pomrinca at 141 pounds helped spark the 12th-ranked Lehigh wrestling team who went on to win six of the final eight matches and claim a 23-9 win over Navy Saturday afternoon at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall in Bethlehem, Pa. The match marked the 100th meeting between the two programs and gave the Mountain Hawks their 53rd win in the series.

"As a team we again kept the focus on the next match, next point, next position and the positive energy from the team is taking hold among the culture and expectation of all 10 athletes competing for us," said sixth-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "This was number 100 in the series, but there will be more battles in this storied war of rivals in the EIWA."

The Highlights
• The Midshipmen moved to 4-4 in dual competition this season, including a 1-1 against EIWA competition.
• The match marked the 100th meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1910. It is the longest series in Navy wrestling history.
• The Mountain Hawks have won nine in a row against the Mids and lead the series, 53-47.

• Lehigh never trailed in Saturday's match, though the dual did feature one tie at 3-3.
• Navy inserted three new starters into the lineup - 133 Jacob Allen (W, 7-6), 157 Jack Stanton-Taddeo (L, 17-2) and 184 Hunter Johns (L, 9-5).
• First-year starter Logan Treaster (125) was tied, 1-1, with #5 Brandon Paetzell going into the third period. Paetzell earned the go-ahead point on Treaster's second stall of the match and followed it with a takedown late in the period. Paetzell rode Treaster out to get the extra point for riding time in the 5-1 win. It was just the second dual loss by Treaster this season.
• Making his first dual appearance since California Baptist on Nov. 2, Jacob Allen (133) owned a 3-2 lead over Lehigh's Nick Farro early in the third period. Farro, though, put together a pair of takedowns to take a 6-5 advantage. Allen rallied and scored the match-winning takedown with just five seconds remaining to get Navy on the board with a 7-6 decision.
• Cody Trybus (141) nearly made it two in a row for the Mids, as his takedown in the third gave him a 4-3 advantage. Ryan Pomrinca, however, wiggled his way free and sent the match, tied up at 4-4, to sudden victory. Pomrinca captured the win (6-4) with his takedown with 12 seconds left in sudden victory.
• Wyatt Long (149) held a 3-2 advantage going into the third period against Dan Moran. Moran, however, scored a late takedown and paired it with a four-point near fall for the 8-3 win over Long.
• Eighth-ranked Tanner Skidgel (165) improved to 14-4 on the year with his 2-0 win over Lehigh's Brian Meyer. Skidgel's lone points were from an escape in the third period and riding time after riding out Meyer the entire second period.
• #20 Spencer Carey (174) fell to third-ranked Jordan Kutler, 5-1. Kutler managed bookend takedowns in the first and third periods.
• Jacob Koser (197) built a 6-0 lead in the first period and nearly pinned Lehigh's Jake Jakobsen. Jakobsen turned Koser and nearly pinned him, but the four-point near fall would not be enough as Koser's had was raised with a 6-5 victory.
• John Birchmeier (285) put up a solid fight against #9 Jordan Wood, but the veteran Mountain Hawk won the bout, 4-1.

More from Coach Sharratt
• I was very impressed with the way we again rolled strong at 125 and dominated the match and position. However, we let circumstances out of our control influence the outcome. We have made strong gains here and there is more in the tank that we need to leave out there in February and March.

• Jacob Koser has solidified himself as a competitor on the national stage and his match was one of the most exciting bouts of the night. Koser is a threat now in every position and as he has filled in some gaps, he has really taken his game to another level. As a Plebe, he has so much more ahead of him but he is certainly a pillar in the lineup that's stepping up in the biggest events and on the largest stages.

• Tanner Skidgel is pound for pound one of the most gifted and competitive athletes in the nation. He did not get the wheels turning early enough to put us in position for bonus points and we need those points in big matches. He knows what he's capable of and I expect to see him wrestle more aggressive moving forward. He works so hard and is extremely determined to reach his goals, but he has to let himself wrestle the full seven minutes and keep putting points on the board.

• Spencer Carey put a test of will up against one of the strongest long-term competitors in the field. He is wrestling extremely well and is relentless with his controlled and methodical pressure on his opponents. He is back to where he was in March and we can see from today's dual there is still room to improve to reach his goals. He's was openly aggressive and attacking in all areas and that made the match exciting to watch in a class of EIWA titans.

#12 Lehigh 23, Navy 9
125 | #5 Brandon Paetzell dec #19 Logan Treaster (NAVY), 5-1  //  Lehigh 3-0
133 | Jacob Allen (NAVY) dec Nick Farro, 7-6  //  Tied 3-3
141 | Ryan Pomrinca dec Cody Trybus (NAVY), 6-4 SV  //  Lehigh 6-3
149 | Dan Moran dec Wyatt Long (NAVY), 8-3  //  Lehigh 9-3
157 | #9 Josh Humphreys tech fall Jack Stanton-Taddeo (NAVY), 17-2 //  Lehigh 14-3
165 | #8 Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) dec Brian Meyer, 2-0  //  Lehigh 14-6
174 | #3 Jordan Kutler dec #20 Spencer Carey (NAVY), 5-1  //  Lehigh 17-6
184 | Eli Grape dec Hunter Johns (NAVY), 9-5  //  Lehigh 20-6
197 | Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec Jake Jakobsen, 6-5 //  Lehigh 20-9
285 | #9 Jordan Wood dec John Birchmeier (NAVY), 4-1  //  Lehigh 23-9

What's Ahead
• The Midshipmen will step away from dual competition next weekend to compete against seven military institutions - Air Force, Army, The Citadel, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine Academy, Norwich and VMI -  in the hopes of capturing its 16th overall All-Academy Championship crown.  
• Air Force will play host to the 26th annual event which will begin with the preliminary rounds at 10:00 am (ET) next Saturday.

### Go Navy ###