“I'm extremely proud of the effort the team gave today in our victory over a competitive Duke squad,†said third-year head coach Joel Sharratt. “It came down to always winning by the largest margin possible. Scoring 66 points is an indicator of an aggressive program and these guys are really understanding wrestling the NAVY WAY!â€
Duke opened up a 7-0 lead with back-to-back victories by Thayer Atkins (15-7 vs. Brant Leadbeter) and Cole Baumgartner (7-4 vs. Cody Lambert) at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively.
Navy, however, answered with a pair of its own. Freshman Jared Prince (Safety Harbor, Fla.), who joined this week's national rankings at #20, scored a takedown and a 4-point near fall in the closing seconds to secure a 15-4 major decision over Duke's Zach Finesilver at 141 pounds. Third-year starter Corey Wilding (Jr / Pittsburgh, Pa.), meanwhile, controlled the opening two periods to fight off the Blue Devils' Xaviel Ramos at 149 to pick up a 9-5 victory and knot the team score at 7-7.
Duke senior Jake Faust held the Mids' Zach Elvin (Fr / Harrisburg, Pa.) scoreless at 157 pounds in giving the Blue Devils a 10-7 advantage halfway through the match.
It was Drew Daniels (Jr / Overland Park, Kan.), however, who took advantage of his rookie opponent at 165, scoring three takedowns in the final period and amassing better than three minutes in riding time to post a 12-4 major decision over Garrett Neff.
In one of the most anticipated matches of the afternoon, the 174-pound match pit 17th-ranked Jadaen Bernstein (Jr / Glen Gardner, N.J.) of Navy against #15 Connor Bass. The two wrestlers met less than a month ago when Bass pinned Bernstein 20 seconds into sudden victory at the Southern Scuffle. A focused Bernstein was determined to come out on top in the rematch. Bernstein owned a 2-1 advantage after the first period and built a 5-2 lead after two periods. The two-time NCAA qualifier scored a takedown in the final 15 seconds and amassed nearly three-and-a-half minutes of riding time in an 8-3 victory over Bass.
“Jadaen wrestled extremely well, dominating every position of the match,†added Sharratt. “He is gaining momentum at the right time and is getting better every match.â€
Not only did Navy push ahead by four points thanks to the Daniels and Bernstein wins, the Mids earned a +13 advantage in points which would prove to be important by the end of the match.
Duke trimmed the Mids' lead to one when redshirt sophomore Alec Schenk utilized an escape and takedown in the third period to come from behind and deal 184-pound Michael Coleman (Jr / Hudson, Ohio) a 6-4 loss. It marked Coleman's first match back since he suffered an injury in mid-November at the Navy Classic.
Improving to 6-0 in dual action this season, Steban Cervantes (Jr / Chula Vista, Calif.) outscored Duke sophomore Luke Farinaro, 6-1, in the third period to earn a 6-2 victory and give the Mids a four-point cushion.
“Steban has been a rock solid performer and has emerged in various national rankings,†said Sharratt. “Our fans today saw another dominate performance by him.â€
For a second straight match, Navy heavyweight Thomas Ott (So / Lewes, Del.) would face one of the nation's best. Duke's Jacob Kasper came into the match with a remarkable 20-1 record, having won 14 consecutive matches. Ott held his own for most of the match, as Kasper held just a 1-0 advantage going into the final period. Kasper, though, was awarded three penalty points for stall calls against Ott. Kasper then took Ott to his back at the edge of the mat, and while Kasper earned six points for the takedown and four-point near fall, Ott managed to avoid the fall as time ran out. The 10-1 victory by Kasper, however, tied the match.
“Thomas put himself in a position for a big upset and ultimately allowed the team to get the ‘W',†added Sharratt. “The lack of position cost him, but his heart and drive got him through a tough position to win the dual!â€
Going into the 165-pound match, there was zero advantage for either team in points as both had combined to score 35 apiece. Navy, though, would go on to outscored the Blue Devils by six over the final five matches to win the tie-breaker.
Navy returns to action next Sunday when it plays host to the 23rd Annual All-Academy Championship. Action is slated to begin at 10:00 am at Alumni Hall with the finals set for 4:00 pm. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students and $5 for groups (purchased in advanced). Tickets can be purchased at the match or in advance by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY, stopping by the NAAA Ticket Office located in Ricketts Hall (M-F, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm) or logging on to NavySports.com(.) For those fans unable to attend, there will be a free live stream of the tournament available on NavySports.com or PatriotLeague.tv(.)
Results:
125 | Thayer Atkins major dec over Brant Leadbeter (NAVY), 15-7
133 | Cole Baumgartner dec over Cody Lambert (NAVY), 7-4
141 | #20 Jared Prince (NAVY) major dec over Zach Finesilver, 15-4
149 | Corey Wilding (NAVY) dec over Xaviel Ramos, 9-5
157 | Jake Faust dec over Zach Elvin (NAVY), 4-0
165 | Drew Daniels (NAVY) major dec over Garrett Neff, 12-4
174 | #17 Jadaen Bernstein (NAVY) dec over #15 Connor Bass, 8-3
184 | Alec Schenk dec over Michael Coleman (NAVY), 6-4
197 | Steban Cervantes (NAVY) dec over Luke Farinaro, 6-2
285 | #6 Jacob Kasper major dec over Thomas Ott (NAVY), 10-1
* Navy wins due to the 3rd tie-breaker criteria (total points), 66-60
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