PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Navy wrestlers Brendan Ferretti (133), Jacob Koser (197) and Grady Griess (285) will have an opportunity to claim an EIWA individual title tomorrow after advancing to the semifinals during the first day of the 119th EIWA Championship in Philadelphia, Pa. Griess also became Navy's first qualifier for the 2023 NCAA Championship by being guaranteed at least a sixth-place finish in the heavyweight bracket. Additionally, Josh Koderhandt (141), Sammy Starr (174) and David Key (184) still have opportunities to earn automatic qualifying spots by advancing through the consolation rounds of their respective weight classes. Ferretti, Koderhandt and Koser must place at least fifth to become automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championship, while Starr and Key must place fourth in their respective weight classes. As a team, Navy stands in seventh of 17 teams with 51.5 points.

Griess won both his matches by a major decision on the first day to earn his first career trip to the NCAA Championship. He opened with a 17-4 major decision over Drexel's Santino Morina and followed up with a 10-1 major decision over Princeton's Travis Stefanik in the quarterfinals, who entered the match ranked 30th in the nation by InterMat. Griess is scheduled to wrestle 26th-ranked Cory Day of Binghamton in the semifinals tomorrow for an opportunity to wrestle in the championship bout. Griess defeated Day by a 7-0 decision in Navy's dual versus Binghamton.

Koser opened the tournament against Army's Daniel Lawrence and got a pin in 4:55 to advance to the quarterfinals. Navy's team captain then stepped on the mat to face Hofstra's 28th-ranked Trey Rodgers for the second time this season. Koser scored a takedown a minute into the first period and increased his lead to 3-0 with an escape to start the third. Rogers got on the board with a takedown with 1:26 to go in the match, but Koser escaped seven seconds later to regain a two-point lead. Rogers tied the match with a takedown with 1:01 remaining in the third, but Koser retook the lead with another escape with 56 seconds to go. Koser scored a crucial takedown with 31 seconds to take a 7-4 lead, but Rogers didn't go down without a fight, scoring an escape and takedown over the next 20 seconds to get back within a point. Koser managed to score an escape with two seconds left in the match and score an additional point with riding time to secure a 9-7 decision. He will face Michael Beard in the semifinals, who holds the top seed in the 197-pound weight class and is currently ranked second in the nation. Beard defeated Koser by a tech fall in Navy's dual versus Lehigh.

Ferretti also pinned his first opponent of the tournament, defeating Jack Maida of American by fall (6:09) to set up a match with Lehigh's fifth-ranked Connor Mcgonagle. Mcgonagle suffered an injury during the match and could not continue, giving Ferretti an injury default win to advance to the semifinals. The freshman will face Cornell's Vito Arujau, who is the No. 1 seed in the 133-pound bracket and is ranked third in the country. 

Koderhandt cruised into the quarterfinals with an 18-3 (6:08) tech fall win over Franklin & Marshall's Aidan O`Shea, but fell in his next match to Penn's Carmen Ferrante by an 8-2 decision. Needing a win to keep his qualifying hopes alive, Koderhandt jumped on Drexel's Jordan Soriano with two takedowns in the first period to take a 4-2 lead after three minutes. Koderhandt added an additional two points in the third period, winning by a 6-3 decision to advance to the cons. of 4 round. He will face Army's Julian Sanchez in the cons. of 4, who he defeated by a 4-1 decision in the Army-Navy Star Match.

Starr shut out American's Lucas White in the round of 16 by a 5-0 decision but fell in the quarterfinals to 14th-ranked Benjamin Pasiuk of Army by an 11-3 major decision. The sophomore responded with another shutout victory, defeating Binghamton's Sam DePrez by a 5-0 decision in the consolation bracket. Starr will begin his day tomorrow against Hofstra's Ross Mcfarland, who defeated Starr by a 7-3 decision in Navy's dual versus Hofstra.

Extra time was needed for Key in his opening match versus Franklin & Marshall's James Conway. The two entered sudden victory in a 2-2 tie, and it was Key scoring a takedown to win by a 4-2 decision to advance. Key dropped his quarterfinal match by a 3-2 decision to 24th-ranked Brian Bonino of Drexel, setting up another matchup against Army's Sahm Abdulrazzaq in the consolation bracket. Like he did in West Point, Key edged Abdulrazzaq by a point to advance into the next round. Key entered the third period with a 3-2 lead, but an escape by Abdulrazzaq tied the match with 1:21 remaining. Key took the lead back with a takedown with 52 seconds to go and Abdulrazzaq only managed an escape for the remainder of the contest, giving Key a 5-4 decision victory. He will battle Columbia's Aaron Ayzerov in the cons. of 4 tomorrow. 

Day two of the EIWA Championship begins tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Fans with a FloWrestling subscription can watch the match or follow along with free live results on FloArena.com(.)

EIWA Championship Day 1 Standings
1. Cornell - 82.5 
2. Lehigh - 68.5 
3. Penn - 67
4. Columbia - 66.5
5. Princeton - 53
6. Army - 52.5
7. Navy - 51.5
8. Harvard - 42.5
9. Drexel - 38
10. Binghamton - 34
10. Bucknell - 34
12. Hofstra - 22    
13. American -20 
14. Franklin & Marshall - 15.5
15. Brown - 7.5    
15. Sacred Heart - 7.5
17. Long Island - 3

Navy Individual Day 1 Results
125 - (11) Dayton DelViscio (0-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 16: lost to #31 (6) Ethan Berginc, Army / Major / 8-0
• Cons. of 8 #1: lost to (14) Antonio Mininno, Drexel / Major / 12-4

133 - (5) #30 Brendan Ferretti
• Rd of 16: defeated (12) Jack Maida, American / Fall / 6:09
• Quarterfinals: defeated (4) #5 Connor Mcgonagle, Lehigh / Injury Default / 0:57

141 - (3) #24 Josh Koderhandt
• Rd of 16: defeated (14) Aidan O`Shea, Franklin & Marshall / Tech Fall / 18-3 (6:08)
• Quarterfinals: lost to (6) Carmen Ferrante, Penn / Dec / 8-2
• Cons. of 8 #2: defeated (8) Jordan Soriano, Drexel / Dec / 6-3

149 - (10) Kaemen Smith (1-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 16: lost to (7) Luke Nichter, Drexel / Dec / 12-7
• Cons. of 8 #1: defeated (17) Michael Leandrou, Hofstra / Major / 15-3
• Cons. of 8 #2: lost to (4) #33 Trae McDaniel, Army / Fall / 6:31

157 - (4) Andrew Cerniglia (1-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 16: defeated (13) Rhise Royster, Long Island / Dec / 4-3
• Quarterfinals: lost to (5) Nathan Lukez, Army / Dec / 7-5
• Cons. of 8 #2: lost to (11) Nick Delp, Bucknell / Dec / 5-3

165 - (8) Val Park (1-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 16: lost to (9) Josh Kim, Harvard / Fall / 7:26 SV
• Cons. of 8 #1: defeated (16) Matt Rogers, Hofstra / Tech Fall / 15-0 (4:12)
• Cons. of 8 #2: lost to (6) Lucas Revano, Penn / Dec / 5-3

174 - (6) Sammy Starr
• Rd of 16: defeated (11) Lucas White, American / Dec / 5-0
• Quarterfinals: lost to (3) #14 Benjamin Pasiuk, Army / Major / 11-3
• Cons. of 8 #2: defeated (9) Sam DePrez, Binghamton / Dec / 5-0

184 - (6) #29 David Key
• Rd of 16: defeated (11) James Conway, Franklin & Marshall / Dec / 4-2 SV
• Quarterfinals: lost to (3) #24 Brian Bonino, Drexel / Dec / 3-2
• Cons. of 8 #2: defeated (8) Sahm Abdulrazzaq, Army / Dec / 5-4

197 - (4) #27 Jacob Koser
• Rd of 16: defeated (13) Daniel Lawrence, Army / Fall / 4:55
• Quarterfinals: defeated (5) #28 Trey Rogers, Hofstra / Dec / 9-7

285 - (2) #22 Grady Griess
• Rd of 16: defeated (15) Santino Morina, Drexel / Major / 17-4
• Quarterfinals: defeated (7) #30 Travis Stefanik, Princeton / Major / 10-1