Having focused primarily on tournament competition in the first half of the season, the Navy wrestling team (0-1, 0-0 EIWA) will turn its attention to dual action beginning this weekend when it travels to Lehigh (6-4, 2-0 EIWA) and Hofstra (2-7, 1-2 EIWA). The Mids will battle the 17th-ranked Mountain Hawks on Saturday at 2:00 pm (Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall) before turning their attention to Hofstra on Sunday for a 4:00 pm dual (David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex).

• Follow the Action: The Navy-Lehigh match will be streamed online via FloWrestling (subscription based), while the Navy-Hofstra match can be viewed on Hofstra's YouTube channel. Links for both matches will be available on the Navy wrestling schedule via NavySports.com(.)

• Coach's Corner: Cary Kolat (5-2 Navy / 44-42 Career) was introduced as Navy's eighth head wrestling coach on March 20, 2020. After falling short to #14 Pitt in its 2020-21 opener (22-14), Navy came back to win its final five matches of the season, including a 20-13 victory over Army in the annual Star Match. Kolat's first victory at the helm of the Navy program was a 41-3 win at Clarion on Jan. 9, 2021. This is Kolat's eighth year as a DI head coach after previously building Campbell into a Southern Conference power and a national name. The three-time SoCon Coach of the Year led Campbell to three SoConTournament titles (2017, '19, '20) and a pair of SoCon regular-season crowns (2019, '20). He coached 19 NCAA Championship qualifiers, along with 12 individual SoCon Champions and 28 medalists at the SoCon Tournament.

• A Look Back at the Franklin & Marshall Open: Making its first appearance in nearly a month, Navy placed three wrestlers at the David H. Lehman Franklin & Marshall Open held last Friday in Lancaster, Pa. Team captain Jacob Allen (125) paced the Mids with a second-place finish, while Andrew Cerniglia (157) took fourth and Ryan Catka (285) placed sixth. It was the third of four tournament appearances in which Allen has placed, while Cerniglia has placed in all four tournaments in which he has wrestled. Catka, meanwhile, has placed in four of his five tournament appearances this season.

Projected Navy Lineup
• 125 - Jacob Allen (Sr, Poway, Calif. / 12-6, 1-0 dual)  or  Dayton DelViscio (Fr, Media, Pa. / 5-7, 0-0)
• 133 - #23 Josh Koderhandt (Fr, Belleville, Ill. / 14-4, 1-0)  or  Luke Lucerne (So, Newtown, Pa. / 7-9, 0-0)
• 141 - Tyler Hunt (So, Calhoun, Ga. / 5-4, 0-0)  or  Jonathan Miranda (Sr, Poway, Calif. / 3-5, 0-1)
• 149 - PJ Crane (Jr, Horsham, Pa. / 4-9, 0-1)  or  river Curtis (Jr, Manassas, Va. / 4-6, 0-0)
• 157 - #20 Andrew Cerniglia (So, Nazareth, Pa. / 16-3, 1-0)  or  George Ruiz (Fr, Clovis, Calif. / 4-0, 0-0)
• 165 - Val Park (Jr, Edmond, Okla. / 17-7, 1-0)  or  Sammy Starr (Fr, Leechburg, Pa. / 11-7, 0-0)
• 174 - Shane Finney (Sr, Carlsbad, Calif. / 13-9, 0-1)  or  Cael Crebs (Fr, Mountoursville, Pa. / 9-6, 0-0)
• 184 - David Key (So, Norcross, Ga. / 10-6, 0-1)  or  Hunter Johns (Jr, Dayton, Ohio / 7-8, 0-0)
• 197 - #26 Jacob Koser (Jr, Dillsburg, Pa. / 13-4)  or  Trevor Swier (Fr, Joliet, Ill. / 2-4, 0-0)
• 285 - Riley Smith (Sr, Mason, Mich. / 13-8, 0-1)  or  Grady Griess (So, Grand Island, Neb. / 15-5, 0-0)  or  Ryan Catka (Fr, Brookhaven, Pa. / 15-5, 0-0)

Projected Lehigh Lineup
• 125 - #15 Jaret Lane (Sr/Jr, 9-3, 6-3 dual)
• Scouting Lehigh: Led by 14th-year head coach Pat Santoro, 17th-ranked Lehigh heads into the weekend with a 6-4 record including a 2-0 mark in EIWA competition. The Mountain Hawks have wins over Oregon State (21-12), Pitt (26-9), Lock Haven (37-3), Central Michigan (25-6), Binghamton (24-14) and Cornell (18-15), while their losses have been against Campbell (22-11), Penn State (23-16), Iowa (28-7) and Missouri (26-9). The Mountain Hawks will face Columbia Friday evening at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall prior to playing host to the Midshipmen. Lehigh, who won its four-consecutive EIWA team title a year ago, returns eight of its EIWA Tournament entrants and NCAA qualifiers from 2021. Lehigh has seven wrestlers who currently appear in this week's Intermat rankings - #15 Jaret Lane (125), #19 Malyke Hines (133), #29 Manzona Bryant IV (149), #8 Josh Humphreys (157), #25 Brian Meyer (165), Jake Logan (174) and #7 Jordan Wood (285). Hines won the 133-pound EIWA title a year ago en route to being named the EIWA Freshman of the Year, while two-time All-American returns for a sixth season and has a chance to become the first five-time EIWA Champion in conference history. Humphreys is a two-time EIWA Champion and 2020 NWCA All-American, while Jaret Lane is also an EIWA Champion.

• Navy-Lehigh Series: Meeting the for 102nd time in program history, Lehigh owns a 53-48 series advantage. In a series that dates back to 1910, the Mids and Mountain Hawks have squared off against one another every year since 1952. This is the longest series in Navy wrestling history with the next closest being Penn State who have met 86 times. Lehigh has won 12 of the last 15 duals, however, Navy claimed a 21-9 victory a year ago in Annapolis. Lehigh owns a 29-10 advantage in matches wrestled in Bethlehem and has won 12-consecutive home duals against the Mids. Navy's last win in Bethlehem was a 22-9 victory on Jan. 28, 1995.

• Longest Rivalries: While the Army-Navy rivalry spans all sports, one of the longest rivalries in Navy wrestling history is the Lehigh rivalry. First meeting in 1910, the two programs have met 101 times and Lehigh is the only opponent Navy has wrestled 90 or more times.

• A Look Back at Last Year's Dual: After dropping its first two matches of the evening by a combined three points, Navy went on to win seven of the final eight bouts to secure a 21-9 victory over 18th-ranked Lehigh at Alumni Hall. It marked the first win by the Midshipmen over the reigning EIWA champions since edging Lehigh 19-15 in Annapolis on Jan. 15, 2011. It was also just the third win by Navy in the series over the last 25 meetings (2007, 2011, 2021).Nine of the 10 matches were decided by 3 or fewer points and all 10 were won by decision. After trailing 6-0 to open the dual, Navy tied the match at 6-6 behind a 5-2 victory by Casey Cobb (149) over Jimmy Hoffman, who was a 2020 NCAA qualifier and was the No. 2 seed in last year's EIWA Tournament. Navy took its first lead (9-6) and held on for good thanks to a 9-8 victory by freshman Andrew Cerniglia (157). Cerniglia scored the takedown with 22 seconds remaining in the match and his 1:27 of riding time gave him the match-winning point. Second-year starter Jacob Koser (197) not only upset 15th-ranked Jake Jakobsen, a two-time NCAA qualifier, his 6-1 victory also sealed the team victory for the Mids. The win by Koser marked his first-career win over a ranked opponent.

Navy 21, Lehigh 9
125 | Jaret Lane dec Logan Treaster (NAVY), 1-0 // Navy 0, Lehigh 3
133 | Malyke Hines dec Jacob Allen (NAVY), 2-0 (1:52 RT)  //  Navy 0, Lehigh 6
141 | #12 Cody Trybus (NAVY) dec Connor McGonagle, 5-3 (1:57 RT)  //  Navy 3, Lehigh 6
149 | Casey Cobb (NAVY) dec Jimmy Hoffman, 5-2  //  Navy 6, Lehigh 6
157 | Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) dec AJ Burkhart, 9-8 (1:27 RT)  //  Navy 9, Lehigh 6
165 | #8 Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) dec Brian Meyer, 2-0 (1:45 RT)  //  Navy 12, Lehigh 6
174 | Jake Logan dec Dean Caravela (NAVY), 7-4  //  Navy 12, Lehigh 9
184 | David Key (NAVY) dec JT Davis, 5-3  //  Navy 15, Lehigh 9
197 | Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec #15 Jake Jakobsen, 6-1  //  Navy 18, Lehigh 9
285 | John Birchmeier (NAVY) dec Victor Lacombe, 3-1  //  Navy 21, Lehigh 9

Projected Hofstra Lineup
• 125 - Jacob Moon (Fr, 1-8, 1-7 dual) or Dylan Acevedo (Fr, 1-9, 1-6) • Scouting Hofstra: Eighth-year head coach Dennis Papadatos has led Hofstra to a 2-7 record this season, including a 1-2 mark against EIWA teams. The Pride have wins over Duke (25-19) and American (27-13), while dropping decisions to #15 Rutgers (35-6), #19 Wisconsin (38-12), Brown (20-15), #8 Virginia Tech (35-3), #6 Arizona State (42-4), #22 Northern Iowa (33-9) and Bucknell (21-15). Hofstra will play host to Buffalo on Saturday afternoon before facing the Mids on Sunday. Hofstra has two wrestlers who are currently ranked by Intermat = #27 Charles Small (184) and #19 Zachary Knighton-Ward (285). A year ago the Pride saw all 10 of its wrestlers finish on the podium in their respective weight classes, while seven qualified for the NCAA Championship - Vinny Vespa (141), Greg Gaxiola (149), Holden Heller (157), Ricky Stamm (165), Charles Small (184), Trey Rogers (197) and Zachary Knighton-Ward (285). Six of the seven are on this year's roster, however, Heller is redshirting this season and Gaxiola has not seen action.

• Navy-Hofstra Series: The Mids and Pride will meet for just the seventh time with Navy winning all six previously-wrestled duals. Navy won the inaugural meeting 19-13 on Jan. 28, 1961, in Hempstead, N.Y. The Mids last wrestled against the Pride on Jan. 13, 2019, in a 30-12 Navy victory in Annapolis. Sunday's dual will mark just the second time the two programs have met  since 1974. Jacob Allen is the only Navy wrestler who has faced Hofstra in dual action, as he dropping a 6-0 decision to Dylan Ryder at 125 pounds his freshman year.