BETHLEHEM, Pa. – An early 9-0 deficit proved too much to overcome as the Navy wrestling team (2-4, 1-1 EIWA) dropped a 20-15 decision to 20th-ranked Lehigh (6-6, 2-0 EIWA) Saturday afternoon at Leeman-Turner Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.
 
The Mountain Hawks won the opening three bouts to jump out to a 9-0 lead, putting the Midshipmen in an early hole. Navy, however, won five of the next seven matches and pull within two points late in the dual.
 
"We needed to get one of the first three bouts today," said head coach Cary Kolat. "Getting one of those would have been a solid start for us. We were in all three matches, but Lehigh took more risks and it paid off for them. In the end, it came down to the big guys and Spencer [Lanosga] did a good job overall. He made one positional mistake and it cost him. If he doesn't make that mistake, the bout and the dual go the other way."
 
Lehigh opened the match with decisions at 125, 133 and 141 pounds. Fifth-ranked Sheldon Seymour edged Navy's Andrew Binni, 5-2, at 125, followed by a 7-3 win by fifth-ranked Ryan Crookham over the Mids' Brendan Ferretti at 133. At 141, fifth-ranked Luke Stanich used a late takedown to secure an 8-4 decision over Caedyn Ricciardi, giving the Mountain Hawks a 9-0 advantage.
 
Navy got on the board at 149 pounds as team captain Kaemen Smith earned a 6-2 decision over Owen Reinsel. Jonathan Ley followed with the Mids' first bonus-point victory of the day, posting an 11-2 major decision over Jadon Skellenger at 157 to cut the Navy's deficit to 9-7.
 
Lehigh answered at 165 when 10th-ranked Max Brignola recorded a 22-6 technical fall over Dylan Elmore to push the Mountain Hawks' lead to 14-7. Navy responded again at 174, where ninth-ranked Danny Wask dominated Dom Federici with an 18-2 technical fall, bringing the Midshipmen to within two points at 14-12.
 
The Mountain Hawks extended their lead with 21st-ranked Rylan Rogers claiming a 4-1 decision over Gage Yackee at 184 pounds, making it 17-12 heading into the final two bouts.
 
At 197, Zyan Hall delivered in dramatic fashion for Navy, defeating 31st-ranked JT Davis, 2-1, in the second tiebreaker to trim Lehigh's lead to two (17-15) and keep the dual alive heading into the heavyweight bout.
 
The match came down to 285 pounds, where sixth-ranked Nathan Taylor secured the victory with a takedown in sudden victory to earn a 4-1 win over 14th-ranked Spencer Lanosga of Navy, sealing the 20-15 victory for Lehigh.
 
Up Next
The Mids will have a short rest as they return to dual action on Sunday to take on George Mason at 4 p.m. at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.
 
Navy vs. No. 20 Lehigh Match Results
125: #5 Sheldon Seymour dec. Andrew Binni (NAVY), 5-2 // Lehigh 3, Navy 0
133: #5 Ryan Crookham dec. #32 Brendan Ferretti (NAVY), 7-3 // Lehigh 6, Navy 0
141: #5 Luke Stanich dec. #33 Caedyn Ricciardi (NAVY), 8-4 // Lehigh 9, Navy 0
149: Kaemen Smith (NAVY) dec. Owen Reinsel, 6-2 // Lehigh 9, Navy 3
157: Jonathan Ley (NAVY) majors Jadon Skellenger, 11-2 // Lehigh 9, Navy 7
165: #10 Max Brignola tech fall #32 Dylan Elmore (NAVY), 22-6 // Lehigh 14, Navy 7
174: #9 Danny Wask (NAVY) tech fall Dom Federici, 18-2 // Lehigh 14, Navy 12
184: #21 Rylan Rogers dec. Gage Yackee (NAVY), 4-1 // Lehigh 17, Navy 12
197: #32 Zyan Hall (NAVY) dec. #31 JT Davis, 2-1 TB-2 // Lehigh 17, Navy 15
285: #6 Nathan Taylor dec. #14 Spencer Lanosga (NAVY), 4-1 SV // Lehigh 20, Navy 15
Attendance – 1,317