"In reality, this was not our best performance," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "For our program, we want to win the battle of the mind, the body and the heart and I don't feel we did that as a team. Yeah, we won some matches, but I'm not sure we won those three battles that I constantly talk to the guys about. It really was an average performance, but we got the win and now the guys can focus on finals and then we will turn our attention to the Southern Scuffle."
Ironically, the featured match-up of the evening was what kicked off Friday's dual meet with No. 8 Adam LoPiccolo squaring off against Navy's ninth-ranked Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.). LoPiccolo took control of the match early with a takedown, followed by a three-point near fall. Prendergast, however, mustered a takedown with 21 seconds left in the opening period to narrow AU's lead to 5-2. LoPiccolo earned a three-point near fall in the second period to take control of the match and eventually the 11-4 win. The AU win gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead in the match, but it would be their last lead of the bout.
Navy senior Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) jumped out to a 7-2 lead over AU freshman Jasen Borshoff through the opening period and extended his lead to 13-2 after the second. Usztics claimed the match at 125 pounds with a 16-6 major decision over Borshoff to give the Mids the go-ahead point, 4-3.
After missing a month with a leg injury, 13th-ranked Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) was back on the mat for the Mids at 133 pounds, however his AU opponent failed to make weight and Baker earned the win via forfeit. Baker did face-off against American's Jordan Lipp in an exhibition match with Baker earning an 8-2 decision.
AU inched its way back into the match with a 7-2 win at 141 pounds by Kyle Borshoff. Borshoff and Navy's Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.) were tied at two apiece entering the third period, but Borshoff took control of the match with an escape in the middle of the period and secured the win with a takedown and near fall with two ticks remaining on the clock.
Navy tacked on six more points to its lead as American forfeited the 149-pound weight class, giving Navy senior John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) the win and the Mids a 16-6 lead.
Team captain John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) opened up a 4-1 lead with a pair of takedowns in the opening period against 157-pounder Jimmy Pepper, extending it to 7-1 with 1:15 remaining in period 2. Jarred was good for three more takedowns by the end of the match to ring up a major decision (14-3).
The Midshipmen won the final three matches of the evening, including an exciting battle at 174 between No. 9 Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) of Navy and unranked Rudy Rueda. Stolpinski scored a takedown with 10 seconds left in the opening period and the score held at 2-0 until the final three minutes. Choosing the down position to start the final period, Rueda was able to escape and narrow the lead to just one with riding time in his favor. Stolpinski, however, was able to get around Rueda at the edge of the mat to earn the two points he needed with only four seconds left in the bout. Stolpinski earned a hard-fought 4-2 win to stay undefeated in dual meet action.
Miranda took the lead 30 seconds into his match against 185-pounder Anthony Fuschino and never looked back. All told, Miranda scored nine takedowns and a near fall en route to sheer domination over Fuschino in a 23-8 decision. Miranda earned the technical fall with riding time.
In the final bout of the night, Navy's Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.) was expecting to face-off against fourth-ranked Josh Glenn who was an All-American last year at 184 pounds. Glenn, who has yet to wrestle this season due to injury, remained sidelined and was replaced by senior Dwayne Hash. After the first period, the match was tied at three apiece. Moyer scored the go-ahead takedown with 1:47 remaining in the second, but Hash kept challenging. It wasn't until Moyer's takedown late in the final period that the sophomore was able to shake Hash and earn the 12-7 win.
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