Navy 39 East Stroudsburg 3

Navy Wrestlers Win Nine Matches En Route to 39-3 Win

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -  The Navy wrestling team (6-8) won nine matches, including eight bonus-point bouts, to earn a 39-3 victory over East Stroudsburg (4-11) Saturday evening at Halsey Field House in Annapolis.  The win snapped the Mids' five-match skid, while Navy pushed its series record to 13-0 against the Warriors.

“The guys went out and wrestled hard tonight,” said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett.  “There was no let down after last night's tough loss.  I think East Stroudsburg was probably outmatched tonight.  We came out and wrestled every point.  Bottom line is I felt like we were able to get back on track tonight.”

Rookie 125-pounder Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.) kicked off the match by giving the Midshipmen a 6-0 lead after scoring his 12th win by fall this winter.  After a late takedown in the opening period, Garner trailed, 3-2.  However, the lead by ESU sophomore David Luthy would be short-lived.  Garner chose the down position to begin the second period and almost immediately reversed the hold and took a one-point edge with 1:46 to go in the period.  A short time later, Garner cranked Luthy's shoulders to the mat and was awarded the win by fall at 6:27.

With his 12th pin of the year, Garner is now tied for ninth on the Mids' single-season falls list and is the lightest wrestler in school history to be ranked among the top 10.  Meanwhile, it's the third-consecutive season the Mids have added a wrestler to the list, as heavyweight Ed Prendergast, a member of the Class of 2008, turned in 17 pins in 2006-07 and 15 in 2007-08.

Coming off an impressive win over the nation's eighth-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, Maryland's Steven Bell, 10th-ranked Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) put together another strong performance for the Mids Saturday night.  Baker scored two takedowns in each of the three periods, along with a three-point nearfall in the opening stanza, to earn a 17-5 major decision over the Warriors' Matt Swallow.  Baker is now 6-0 this season, including 3-0 in dual action.

“It feels good to get back,” said Baker, who earned All-America recognition last spring at the national tournament.  “I didn't know if I'd be back after getting hurt after the all-star match.  I saw Scott Steele get hurt and he's done for the year.  I was afraid it would happen to me.  I've been there before and it's not a good situation.

“I think I'll be able to peak at the right time.  I'm feeling more confident and stronger each match I wrestle.  I'm just glad everything seems to be falling in place for me to return.”

Navy extended its lead to 14-0 thanks to a 14-4 major decision by junior 141-pounder Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.).  Entering the second period with just a one-point advantage over second-year standout Matthew Rizzo, Pagan controlled the period that featured a three-point nearfall at the buzzer to take an 8-1 lead.  Pagan turned in an escape and a takedown in the last minute of the match to give him the points he needed for the extra-point decision.

Sophomore sensation Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) earned just his second win of the season by a technical fall when he racked up a 17-2 victory at 5:15 against senior Scott Heckman.  Saddoris owned a 7-1 lead after the opening period and had already built up over a minute of riding time.  The returning NCAA〓qualifier produced a pair of takedowns, a three-point nearfall and an escape to push his lead to 15-2 by the end of two.  The match ended 14 seconds into the third period when Saddoris scored his fifth takedown of the match.

Saddoris now stands 33-3 on the year and is ranked 23rd on the Mids' single-season wins list.  He is just two wins shy of equalling his win total from a year ago.  Additionally, he is tied with Greg Gingeleskie (1996-97) for second on the school's list for wins by a sophomore.  Steve Kovach holds the record with 38 victories set in 2000-01.

Navy's lead was pushed to 23-0 following a 16-2 major decision by junior Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) who improved to 3-1 in dual competition this season at 157 pounds.  Shober led from the opening whistle when he took down redshirt freshman Ken Monarque for two just seven seconds into the match.  Leading 9-2 by the end of the second period, Shober controlled the match with nearly four minutes of riding time.  Starting in the down position to start the final period, Shober scored the reversal, followed by a three-point nearfall to lead 14-2 with just over a minute to go.  A 15th point was tacked on by the end of the match after Monarque received his second stall warning of the match.

The 165-pound match was one of the more exciting matches of the evening.  ESU's Thad Frick struck first with a takedown 53 seconds into the match, but Navy sophomore Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.) wiggled free almost immediately.  DeMichiel too his first lead of the match with 1:26 to go with a takedown, riding Frick the remainder of the period.  DeMichiel pushed his lead to 4-2 with an early escape in the second, but 20 seconds later Frick knotted the match at four apiece with a takedown.  DeMichiel went into the final period with a 5-4 advantage after a late escape, however, Frick chose to begin the third period in the down position.  Not only did DeMichiel hold, he scored a two-point nearfall to pad his lead at 7-4.  Frick, though, managed to get loose and narrowed the gap to 7-5 with 35 seconds, though DeMichiel would get the point for riding time and claimed an 8-5 decision.

Freshman Luke Rebertus (Elkton, Md.) gave up just one point at 174 pounds en route to producing a technical fall over newcomer Nick Tetro at the 4:31 mark.  The rookie, who spent nearly three weeks sidelined with an injury, looked confident in his match and shot repeatedly at Tetro.  Rebertus was credited with three three-point nearfalls and three takedowns in his effort to improve to 27-7 overall and 6-3 in dual action this season.

Pushing his career dual mark to 12-2, senior Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.) gave Navy a 35-0 lead in the match by handing ESU's Ed Ebewo a 12-3 loss.  After jumping out to a 6-2 lead through two periods, Caldwell broke the match open in the third with a pair of takedowns and 2:29 worth of riding time.

Navy earned its final win of the night at 197 pounds where senior Philip Neese (Lexington, S.C.) recorded a 13-5 major decision over junior Shane Mallory.  Neese headed into the final period with a 9-2 advantage, however, Mallory opened the stanza with an escape and then narrowed the gap to 9-5 by earning a takedown with 48 seconds to go.  Neese broke free and followed with a takedown with just 12 seconds left to open up a 12-5 lead.  With the more than two minutes of riding time, Neese earned the extra point to get the bonus-point win.

East Stroudsburg junior Chris Birchler took the final bout of the night by way of a 9-4 decision over Navy sophomore Mike Landis (Hershey, Pa.).    Birchler scored the opening takedown and held the lead for the remainder of the match.  It was just the second dual bout for Landis this season.

The Midshipmen will be back in action Saturday when they travel to Lexington, Va., to take part in the annual All-Academy Championship.

Navy 39, East Stroudsburg 3
125 - Prescott Garner (N) fall David Luthy (ESU), 6:27 (Navy, 6-0)
133 - #10 Joe Baker (N) major dec. Matt Swallow (ESU), 17-5 (Navy, 10-0)
141 - Matt Pagan (N) major dec. Matthew Rizzo (ESU), 14-4 (Navy, 14-0)
149 - #6 Bryce Saddoris (N) tech fall Scott Heckman (ESU), 17-2, 5:15 (Navy, 19-0)
157 - Glenn Shober (N) major dec. Ken Monarque (ESU), 16-2 (Navy, 23-0)
165 - Matt DeMichiel (N) dec. Thad Frick (ESU), 8-5 (Navy, 26-0)
174 - Luke Rebertus (N) tech fall Nick Tetro (ESU), 16-1, 4:31 (Navy, 31-0)
185 - Casey Caldwell (N) major dec. Ed Ebewo (ESU), 12-3 (Navy, 35-0)
197 - Philip Neese (N) major dec. Shane Mallory (ESU), 13-5 (Navy, 39-0)
HWT - Chris Birchler (ESU) dec. Mike Landis (N), 9-4 (Navy, 39-3)