Jan. 4, 2008

2008 Lone Star Duals - Saturday Schedule Matrix

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The No. 21-ranked Navy wrestling team will open up the new year with a trip to Texas where the Midshipmen will face nationally-ranked Wisconsin (No. 14) and Oklahoma (No. 19), along with EIWA foe Columbia in the 11th-annual Lone Star Duals held at the South Grand Prairie Warrior Coliseum in South Grand Prairie, Texas. Twenty-five collegiate programs from around the country, including four teams ranked in the top 20, will be in action on Saturday with 10 mats used simultaneously (along with high school matches) beginning at 8:00 am.

Navy, who has yet to wrestle a dual match this season, opens Saturday's competition with a 10:00 am (11:00 Eastern) battle against Oklahoma, who has amassed a 5-1 dual meet mark. The Sooners, who have been off the mat for a month, were last in action on Dec. 7 when they turned in a strong 27-6 performance against Central Oklahoma, the defending Div. II National Champion. Though OU has not competed as a team over the last several weeks, several wrestlers used the holiday break to compete on an individual basis around the country. Sophomores Eric Lapotsky and Shane Vernon both placed first at the Wilkes-Barre Open in Wilkes, Penn., while freshman Zack Bailey advanced to the championship match in Evanston, Ill. at the Midlands Championship. Six Sooners head into the tournament ranked among the nation's top 20 in their respective weight classes, including three in the top 10. Joel Flaggert, who owns an 11-0 record at 197 pounds, is OU's highest ranked wrestler at No. 5, while 184-pounder Josh Weitzel (12-0) is seventh and 149-pounder Will Rowe (13-1) is eighth.

Upon completion of the OU match, Navy will need to recover quickly as it will take on Columbia at 12-noon (1:00 Eastern). Like Navy, Columbia has spent the opening half of the season competing in tournaments, including the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational where it placed 27th out of 50, the Wilkes Open and the Midlands Open (36th out of 50). Prior to their match against the Midshipmen, the Lion will battle Cal State-Fullerton, who just fell out of the NWCA top-25 poll. Columbia's lone wrestler ranked in the top 25 is senior Brandon Kinney, who has turned in a 12-3 record and is ranked 17th. Junior 141-pounder Sal Tirico battled Navy sophomore Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last month and earned an 8-3 decision.

Navy's final match of the day (6:00 pm/7:00 Eastern) is against the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers who have also been away from the mats for nearly a month. The Badgers own a 4-1-1 record, dropping their lone match to Big Ten foe 12th-ranked Ohio State on Dec. 10, 23-13. That was the last time Wisconsin was on the mat. However, the Badgers are stocked with talent, as six wrestlers are ranked among the top 20. Senior Craig Henning has won 11 of his 12 matches and is ranked second at 157 pounds. Meanwhile, redshirt junior Dallas Herbst has jumped out to a 14-1 start to the season and is seventh at 197 pounds.

Two interesting matches between the Badgers and Mids will be at 133 pounds and the heavyweight division. Junior Zach Tanelli got the best of Navy junior Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) earlier this season at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational where Tanelli earned a 5-2 decision over Baker in the seventh-place match. Meanwhile, look for the Badgers' Kyle Massey, ranked 15th, to push either No. 7 Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) or Scott Steele (Baltimore, Md.) at heavyweight.

Oklahoma has defeated Navy in all 10 of its previous meetings, while the Mids have never lost to Columbia in their 22 matches. Wisconsin has won four of its five matches against the Midshipmen, including a 29-7 victory over Navy at the Northwestern Duals a year ago.

After a slow start to the season, Prendergast has stepped up his production for the Mids, winning nine consecutive matches and two tournament crowns (Reno Tournament of Champions, Southern Scuffle). Boasting a 19-4 record, Prendergast has battled the entire season with Steele, who defeated him at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Navy Classic to win heavyweight titles of his own. Steele has produced a 19-3 record this season.

Another name to look out for this weekend is that of freshman Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.), who has placed in four of the five tournaments in which he has wrestled and finished among the top three in three of the four a 149 pounds. Saddoris owns the most wins among EIWA competitors this season with 23 and was the first Navy wrestler to 20 wins.

Senior captain Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) dropped to ninth in the rankings this week, but has been stout in competition at 174 pounds this year with a 22-6 record. He has placed in all five tournaments, winning the Navy Classic and finishing as the runner-up at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Reno Tournament of Champions.

Meanwhile, Baker, a two-time NCAA Tournament qualifier continues to be a solid wrestler at 133 pounds. He has placed in all four tournaments in which he has seen action, including second-place finishes at the Navy Classic and the Reno Tournament of Champions. He is coming off a fourth-place performance at the Southern Scuffle last weekend. He owns a 14-7 record heading into the Lone Star Duals.

Results from the Lone Star Duals will be posted on the official site at www.lonestarduals.com. Navigate to the schedule matrix for Saturday to locate the results. Navy's results from the entire tournament will be reported at the conclusion of the day.

Weight Classes Featuring Ranked Wrestlers
Wt.   Rank      Wrestler, School (Record)
125   No. 17    Brandon Kinney, Columbia (12-3)
133   No. 18    Zach Tenelli, Wisconsin (13-4)
141   No. 8     Kyle Ruschell, Wisconsin (12-3)
      No. 11    Zack Bailey, Oklahoma (21-3)
149   No. 8     Will Rowe, Oklahoma (13-1)
157   No. 2     Craig Henning, Wisconsin (1-1)
165   No. 12    Max Dean, Oklahoma (12-1)
174   No. 9     Matt Stolpinski, Navy (22-6)
184   No. 7     Josh Weitzel, Oklahoma (12-0)
      No. 11    Trevor Brandvold, Wisconsin (13-4)
197   No. 5     Joel Flaggert, Oklahoma (11-0)
      No. 7     Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin (14-1)
HWT   No. 7     Ed Prendergast, Navy (19-4)
      No. 14    Nathan Fernandez, Oklahoma (10-2)
      No. 15    Kyle Massey, Wisconsin (12-5)

### Go Navy ###