Freshman 157-pound wrestler
Andrew Cerniglia (Nazareth, Pa.) has been named the Naval Academy Athletic Association Athlete of the Week presented by Northrop Grumman after his victory over Christian Hunt clinched the team win over Army in the annual Star Match last Friday night at West Point.
The see-saw match saw the two programs trade wins over the first four bouts, before heavyweight
John Birchmeier sparked the Mids and broke a 7-7 tie with his last-second takedown against Army senior Bobby Heald, who had never lost in the Star Match. Birchmeier's win was the first of four over the final six bouts for Navy. While team captain
Cody Trybus' decision over Lane Peters at 141 pounds gave Navy a six-point advantage, 20th-ranked P.J. Ogunsanya trimmed Army's deficit to just three with one final match remaining - Cerniglia vs. Hunt.
Despite leading the match 16-13, it was a must-win situation for Navy and Cerniglia. An Army/Hunt win by decision would have tied the match at 16-all, forcing officials to go through the tie-breaking protocol. An Army/Hunt win by 2 or more points would have given the Black Knights the tie-breaker due to total points scored by Army in the entire match (Navy was leading 47-46 going into the Cerniglia bout). A win by major decision, tech fall, pin, injury or DQ would have assured Army the victory due to bonus points.
Cerniglia, who had not competed in two weeks due to injury, stepped to the mat and completed the task at hand with a 14-3 major decision over Hunt to seal the win for the Midshipmen.
It was Navy's first Star Match victory since defeating Army 19-17 on Feb. 20, 2016. It was also Navy's first win at West Point since Feb. 24, 2013 when Bruce Burnett led the Mids to a 22-10 victory.
Navy, who is ranked No. 18 in this week's NWCA Div. I Wrestling Coaches Poll, returns to the mat a week from Friday (Feb. 26) seeking its first EIWA crown since 1990. The 10-team EIWA Championship will be held at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pa. and will be broadcast live on FloWrestling.org (subscription required). The tournament is scheduled to begin at 10:00 am with championship and place winner matches slated for approximately 5:30 pm. No spectators or outside media will be permitted to attend the championship.
### Go Navy ###
