Defending EIWA Champion and 17th-ranked Lehigh (8-4, 4-0 EIWA) won six of the first seven matches en route to a 24-9 victory over the Navy wrestling team (0-2, 0-1 EIWA) Saturday afternoon at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall in Bethlehem, Pa. The Mountain Hawks extended their winning streak to four in a row and look to be hitting their stride after upsetting No. 8 Cornell 18-15 a week ago, while rallying to defeat Columbia 20-16 less than 24 hours ago. Navy, meanwhile, is in the early stages of its dual schedule, wrestling in dual format for just the second time this season and the first since facing Maryland on Dec. 11.

"Not one athlete, coach or program likes to take a loss like we did today," said second-year Navy head coach Cary Kolat, who guided the Mids to a 21-9 victory over Lehigh a year ago in Annapolis. "Wrestling is about positions and time on the clock. We came out on the losing end of key bouts today, and did so because they just wrestled 10 seconds better at important moments. I expect to see changes in our lineup as we continue to mature as a team and make the commitment necessary to win."

The Series
• Saturday's dual marked the 102nd meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1910.
• Lehigh leads the series 54-48, including a 30-10 advantage in matches wrestled in Bethlehem.
• Lehigh has now won 13-consecutive matches against Navy in Bethlehem.

The Highlights
• Despite winning six of the first seven matches, the victory by Lehigh was not secured until the second-to-last match which was won by Navy's Jacob Koser, but only by decision.
• Six of Lehigh's seven victories were by wrestlers currently ranked (125-133-157-165-174-197-285) by Intermat.
• Two matches featured ranked wrestlers from both teams - 133 (#19 Malyke Hines, Lehigh / #23 Josh Koderhandt, Navy) and 157 (#8 Josh Humphreys, Lehigh / #18 Andrew Cerniglia, Navy) - with Lehigh scoring wins in both matches.
• Eight of the 10 bouts were won by decision, including one-point victories in four matches (2 wins by Lehigh, 141, 165 / 2 wins by Navy 149, 197) ... Lehigh won both bonus-point matches at 157 (major) and 285 (fall).
• A point was deducted from Lehigh's team score following the 165-pound match due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
• Jonathan Miranda (Sr / 149 / Poway, Calif.) made just his second-career dual appearance and claimed his first-career dual win thanks to a late takedown in a 4-3 victory over Lehigh's Paul Watkins. Normally a 141-pounder, it also marked the first match of Miranda's career he has wrestled at 149 pounds.
• Hunter Johns (Jr / 184 / Dayton, Ohio) got the starting nod at 184 pounds, marking his third-career dual appearance and first since his freshman year (0-2). The 14-8 victory by Johns over Lehigh's AJ Burkhart marked his first-collegiate dual win.
• Three-year starter and 26th-ranked Jacob Koser (Jr / 197 / Dillsburg, Pa.) shut out JT Davis 1-0 and improved to 15-6 in dual action over his three-year career and 1-1 this season.
• Ryan Catka (Fr / 285 / Brookhaven, Pa.) made his first-career dual appearance against one of the nation's top heavyweights, seventh-ranked Jordan Wood. After a scoreless opening period, Wood, a four-time EIWA Champion, went on to win by fall.

A Look Ahead
• Navy will be back in action on Sunday afternoon (4:00 pm) when it faces Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in Hempstead, N.Y.
• The Navy-Hofstra match will be streamed online via Hofstra's YouTube channel.

#17 Lehigh 24, Navy 9
125 | #15 Jaret Lane dec Jacob Allen (NAVY), 10-6 // Lehigh 3, Navy 0
133 | #19 Malyke Hines dec #23 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY), 13-7  //  Lehigh 6, Navy 0
141 | Connor McGonagle dec Tyler Hunt (NAVY), 1-0  //  Lehigh 9, Navy 0
149 | Jonathan Miranda (NAVY) dec Paul Watkins, 4-3 //  Lehigh 9, Navy 3
157 | #8 Josh Humphreys major #18 Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY), 9-1  //  Lehigh 13, Navy 3
165 | #25 Brian Meyer dec Val Park (NAVY), 5-4  //  Lehigh 16, Navy 3
174 | #33 Jake Logan dec Shane Finney (NAVY), 7-2  //  Lehigh 18, Navy 3
184 | Hunter Johns (NAVY) dec AJ Burkhart, 14-8  //  Lehigh 18, Navy 6
197 | #26 Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec JT Davis, 1-0  //  Lehigh 18, Navy 9
285 | #7 Jordan Wood fall Ryan Catka (NAVY), 3:31  //  Lehigh 24, Navy 9
* Lehigh was deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct

Extra Matches
125 | Sheldon Seymour fall Dayton DelViscio (NAVY), 2:58
149 | Steven Storm fall PJ Crane (NAVY), 3:39
197 | Eli Jones tech fall Trevor Swier (NAVY), 17-1, 5:26

### Go Navy ###