ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 17th-ranked Navy wrestling team (5-0, 0-0) faces its first test against an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) foe on Thursday when it travels to Washington, D.C. to battle American (4-3, 0-0).

The dual begins at 7 p.m. at Bender Arena. 

Fans with an ESPN+ subscription can watch the dual with links provided on NavySports.com(.) Jeremy Huber (play-by-play) and Tommy Bennett (color) will provide broadcast coverage.

Notes For Traveling Fans
• Thursday's contest will be held at Bender Arena (4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20016)
• Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth (3-14) and seniors (65+)
• Children ages two and under are not required to have a ticket to enter. If attending without a ticket, they must sit on the lap of an accompanying adult. All children three years or older must have a ticket
• Military and veterans will receive free admission with valid identification
• Fans can purchase tickets online HERE 

Live Stats Instructions
• Fans can also follow along with Thursday's dual by downloading the Takedown LIVE mobile app
• After opening the app, press the plus button in the top right corner to add a team 
• Select American University
• When the dual has begun, go to the scores tab to follow along with matches in progress

Projected Navy Lineup (2023-24 Dual Record / Career Dual Record)
• 125: Evan Tallmadge (3-1 / 3-1) / Dayton DelViscio (1-0 / 4-3)
• 133: No. 22 Brendan Ferretti (4-0 / 11-3)
• 141: No. 19 Josh Koderhandt (4-0 / 20-6) 
• 149: Nicholas Vafiadis (1-2 / 1-2) / James Latona (1-1 / 1-4) / Luke Lucerne (0-0 / 0-0)
• 157: Jonathan Ley (2-2 / 2-2) / Charlie Evans (1-1 / 1-1)
• 165: No. 20 Andrew Cerniglia (2-1 / 17-4) / Tyler Sagi (1-0 / 1-0)
• 174: No. 19 Danny Wask (1-3 / 1-3) / Sammy Starr (1-0 / 7-7)
• 184: No. 27 David Key (3-1 / 18-6) / Zyan Hall (1-0 / 1-0)
• 197: Cael Crebs (2-1, 7-7) / Jacob Lucas (2-0 / 3-1)
• 285: No. 14 Grady Griess (3-1 / 12-4) / Jamier Ferere (1-0 / 1-0)

Mids In The Rankings (InterMat / FloWrestling / Amateur Wrestling News)
• 133: Brendan Ferretti - 22 / 23 / NR
• 141: Josh Koderhandt - 19 / 14 / 17
• 165: Andrew Cerniglia - 20 / 18 / 20
• 174: Danny Wask - 19 / 25 / 17
• 184: David Key - 27 / 26 / 14 
• 285: Grady Griess - 14 / 15 / 10 

Navy Team Notes
• Navy owns a 5-0 record this season and has won seven-consecutive duals dating back to the 2022-23 campaign
• The Mids are on their longest winning streak since they won seven-straight duals between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons
• Navy defeated Ohio on Sunday, Dec. 10, 27-12, to improve to 5-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season
• The Bobcats held a 12-3 lead through five bouts, but the Mids claimed the next five to score 24-unanswered points
• Navy earned bonus points in the final four matches from a major decision, a technical fall and two falls
• Head coach Cary Kolat won the 60th dual of his coaching career. He now owns a 60-52 career record and a 21-12 record in Annapolis
• Along with their win over Ohio, the Mids have beaten then No. 23 Illinois (23-18), then No. 16 Pitt (21-12), Morgan State (39-0) and VMI (40-6)
• Navy has won 36 of the 50 bouts in duals this season and has earned bonus points in 17 of its wins (47.2)
• The Mids have scored at least 20 points in all five duals and have outscored their opponents, 150-48 
• A victory against American would give Navy its longest winning streak since it won 10-consecutive duals between the 2004-05 and 2005-06 campaigns
• The Mids are facing an EIWA opponent in December for the first time since 2017 when they beat Drexel, 22-13
• Navy has won at least 72 percent of its duals against 14 of the 17 active members of the EIWA
• The Mids won four of their five duals over EIWA teams in 2022-23
• Navy has lost its last two EIWA openers. Both defeats have come against Lehigh
• The Mids remained ranked 17th in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division I Top 25 Poll (Dec. 12)
• Navy has been ranked in the top 25 for five-straight weeks, four of which have been at No. 17
• The Mids earned a national ranking for the first time since Feb. 23, 2021, when they were tabbed 19th on Nov. 14
• Navy is one of three ranked teams in the EIWA. Cornell (No. 5) and Lehigh (No. 23) also garnered a ranking in the poll

Navy Individual Notes
• Josh Koderhandt (141) won his ninth-consecutive dual match by defeating Aidan Waszak by fall (4:59). The Belleville, Ill., native leads Navy in career dual wins (20) and wins by fall (18) 
• Grady Griess (285) won his team-leading 12th match of the season, as well as his 12th dual match in his career with an 11-2 major decision against Jordan Greer. Navy's team captain also earned his 10th win by major decision in his career
• Brendan Ferretti (133) defeated an opponent by technical fall for the second time in his career with an 18-2 (6:34) tech fall over Paul Woo. He and Koderhandt are both 4-0 this season and are tied as the team leader in dual wins
• Andrew Cerniglia (165) wrestled for the first time since the Navy Quad Meet on Nov. 12 and picked up a huge win, defeating No. 11 Garrett Thompson by a 7-5 decision
• Cerniglia was the only mid to defeat a ranked Bobcat in the dual. The victory was his first against a ranked wrestler since Jan. 21, 2023. Additionally, the senior's win over Thompson is the second-best win over a ranked wrestler in his career
• Cerniglia has won 17 of his 21 dual matches at Navy and owns the best winning percentage in duals on the team (80.9)
• David Key (184) looks to return to his winning ways after dropping his last two matches. The Norcross, Ga., native hasn't lost three-straight matches since his sophomore season
• Four of Navy's 10 projected starters against American are freshmen - Jonathan Ley (157); Evan Tallmadge (125); Nicholas Vafiadis (149); Danny Wask (174)
• Tallmadge has proven to be a huge difference maker at 125 pounds for the Mids, winning three of his four dual matches this season. Navy posted just a 2-9 record at 125 pounds in duals in 2022-23

Projected American Lineup
• 125: No. 13 Jack Maida / Shamil Kalmatov
• 133: Maximilian Leete
• 141: Cael McIntyre / Raymond Lopez
• 149: Ryan Zimmerman / Ethan Szerencsits
• 157: Jack Nies / Devon Capato
• 165: Breon Phifer
• 174: Lucas White
• 184: Connor Bourne
• 197: Liam Volk-Klos / Caleb Beaty
• 285: Will Jarrell / Emmanuel Ulrich

Scouting American
• American has compiled a 4-3 record this season. The Eagles will compete in 22 duals during the 2023-24 campaign
• American opened its dual slate with a 30-7 loss to Maryland. The Eagles won their next two duals against Clarion (18-15) and Millersville (35-12). After back-to-back losses to then No. 5 Virginia Tech (39-4) and Utah Valley (25-12), American regrouped to defeat George Mason (21-15) and Davidson (31-7)
• The Eagles won eight of the 10 bouts and posted six shutouts in their last dual against Davidson
• American's victory against George Mason on Nov. 21 was its first win at home since it defeated Duke, 22-18, on Dec. 5, 2021
• The Eagles have been one of the top-rated academic teams in the nation over the last 17 seasons. Since 2006, American has been ranked in the top 10 in team GPA 14 times and has finished first in the country twice (2008, '09)
• The Eagles have posted a 3.0 or higher team GPA every year since 2006
• Five athletes (Will Jarrell, Jack Maida, Patrick Ryan, Colin Shannon, Lucas White) were named NWCA Division I Men's Scholar All-Americans for the 2022-23 season
• Head coach Jason Borrelli is in his third year at American following a 13-year stint as the head coach at Stanford. The 2021 WIN Dan Gable National Coach of the Year has guided the Eagles to a 13-28 record during his tenure
• Maida (125) is the lone ranked wrestler in coach Borrelli's projected lineup, ranked No. 13 in his weight class. The junior is 9-0 overall and has won five dual matches this season. He qualified for the NCAA Championship last season at 133 pounds after placing fifth at the EIWA Championship with a 3-2 record. Both of his losses at the EIWA Championship were to Ferretti

Navy vs. American Series History
• The Mids have won 14 of the 16 meetings against the Eagles
• Navy has claimed all eight matchups in Washington, D.C.
• The two teams last met in January of 2020, where the Mids used four wins by fall to take the dual by a score of 24-21. The dual was tied, 18-18, with two bouts remaining and Jacob Koser ('23), who was a freshman that season, broke the tie with a fall (2:21) against Jarrell
• Navy and American first met in January of 1997. The Mids won the inaugural meeting, 30-10, in Annapolis
• Navy has scored 30 or more points in eight duals against American, but hasn't surpassed the 30-point mark since 2015
• Coach Kolat is 0-4 in his career against the Eagles. All four losses came while he was at Campbell. American is one of only 10 programs in the nation with multiple wins against Kolat
• Griess and Jarrell (285) are expected to face each other for the third time in their careers. Griess has won both matchups against Jarrell at the Navy Classic. He claimed the first meeting in 2022 by a 10-3 decision. He defeated Jarrell by fall (2:59) at this year's tournament 

Navy Individual Records vs. American
Cael Crebs (0-1)
• 11-20-21: Lost to Colin Shannon (Navy Classic), Dec / 8-2

Dayton DelViscio (0-1)
• 11-20-21: Lost to Andrew Fallon (Navy Classic), Dec / 4-3

Jamier Ferere (0-2)
• 11-19-22: Lost to Will Jarrell (Navy Classic), Fall / 6:21
• 12-4-22: Lost to Isaac Righter (Patriots Open), Major / 17-4

Brendan Ferretti (2-0)
• 3-4-23: Defeated Jack Maida (EIWA Championship), Fall / 6:09
• 3-5-23: Defeated Jack Maida (EIWA Championship), Dec / 5-3

Grady Griess (3-0)
• 11-19-22: Defeated Will Jarrell (Navy Classic), Dec / 10-3
• 1-6-23: Defeated Isaac Righter (Franklin & Marshall Open), Forfeit
• 11-18-23: Defeated Will Jarrell (Navy Classic), Fall / 2:59

David Key (1-0)
• 11-20-21: Defeated Connor Bourne (Navy Classic), Dec / 6-0

Josh Koderhandt (1-0)
• 11-14-21: Defeated Jack Maida (Bearcat Open), Tech Fall / 17-2 (6:07)

James Latona (1-0)
• 11-19-22: Defeated Garrett Washington (Navy Classic), Tech Fall / 15-0 (4:38)

Jacob Lucas (2-0)
• 1-29-23: Defeated Liam Volk-Klos (Mat Town College Open II), Dec / 9-3
• 11-18-23: Defeated Liam Volk-Klos (Navy Classic), Tech Fall / 19-3 (6:16)

Sammy Starr (1-0)
• 3-4-23: Defeated Lucas White (EIWA Championship), Dec / 5-0

900 Wins and Counting
• Established in 1909, the Navy wrestling program is in its 116th season as a varsity sport. Head coach John Schutz directed the Mids to a 24-9 victory over Penn on March 13, 1909 in their inaugural dual 
• Having amassed a 926-324-26 overall record, Navy captured the program's 900th victory behind a 21-12 victory over Maryland on Dec. 6, 2019
• With 74 NCAA Championship appearances in tow, there are just eight programs who have competed in more - 91 Oklahoma State, 83 Oklahoma, 82 Iowa State, 81 Michigan, 79 Michigan State, 79 Penn State, 77 Lehigh and 76 Illinois. Like Navy, both Iowa and Minnesota have made 74 appearances
• The Mids, meanwhile, have the 25th-longest active NCAA Championship appearance streak, having competed in each of the last 25 tournaments. Oklahoma leads the country with 73-straight appearances

Up Next
The Mids will step away from competition during the holiday period and be back in action for the Franklin & Marshall Open. The tournament is slated for Friday, Jan. 5 at 9 a.m.