Navy routs No. 18 Lehigh, 21-9, to earn first win in the series since 2011
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by Stacy Michaud, U.S. Naval Academy
Jacob Koser (Navy) stops Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh), leading Navy to a big win. Photo courtesy of Navy Athletics.
After dropping its first two matches of the evening by a combined three points, the Navy wrestling team (2-1, 1-0 EIWA) went on to win seven of the final eight bouts to secure a 21-9 victory over 18th-ranked Lehigh (0-2, 0-1 EIWA) Saturday evening at Alumni Hall. It marked the first win by the Midshipmen over the reigning EIWA champions since edging Lehigh 19-15 in Annapolis on Jan. 15, 2011. It was also just the third win by Navy in the series over the last 25 meetings (2007, 2011, 2021).
"It's good to get the win," said first-year Navy head coach Cary Kolat, whose Mids held Lehigh to single digits for the first time in the series since Jan. 28, 1995 (22-9). "I think there were some matches where our guys wrestled a little apprehensive. Lehigh is a traditional powerhouse school and I know it's been a long time since we've beaten them, so it was time to get a win over Lehigh and get it going.
"We've got to open up a little bit more. We have to have more of an open style of wrestling and put some points on the board and not have so many close ones. We need to be more open mentally. Sometimes you've got to win ugly matches as we say. 141 was sort of an ugly match, 149 was an ugly match in terms of their grip and you've got to win those ... 157 was another one. It was great after seeing 125 and 133 not come through to get that momentum back on our side. That's what is important when you are in a big dual meet. David Key won another grippy, grindy match. I thought Koser looked good and John Birchmeier was great, he put the icing on the cake. He looked very dynamic tonight and I think once John starts attacking the other side he will be a force to reckon with."
The Highlights
• The Midshipmen are now 2-1 on the year, including 1-1 at home.
• Saturday's dual marked the 101st meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1910.
• Lehigh leads the series, 53-48, and entered Saturday evening's match having won nine in a row against the Mids.
• Navy now owns a 38-24 advantage in matches wrestled in Annapolis against the Mountain Hawks.
• Nine of the 10 matches were decided by 3 or fewer points and all 10 were won by decision.
• After trailing 6-0 to open the dual, Navy tied the match at 6-6 behind a 5-2 victory by Casey Cobb (149) over Jimmy Hoffman, who was a 2020 NCAA qualifier and was the No. 2 seed in last year's EIWA Tournament.
• Navy took its first lead (9-6) and held on for good thanks to a 9-8 victory by freshman Andrew Cerniglia (157). Cerniglia scored the takedown with 22 seconds remaining in the match and his 1:27 of riding time gave him the match-winning point.
• Second-year starter Jacob Koser (197) not only upset 15th-ranked Jake Jakobsen, a two-time NCAA qualifier, his 6-1 victory also sealed the team victory for the Mids.
• The win by Koser marked his first-career win over a ranked opponent, as he was 0-3 against ranked foes a year ago and is 1-1 this season (lost to #11 Greg Bulsak of Clarion last week).
• Cody Trybus (133), Casey Cobb (149) and Andrew Cerniglia (157) improved to 3-0 in dual action this season, while David Key, (184), Jacob Koser (197) and John Birchmeier (285) are also undefeated at 2-0.
• Additionally, the two programs engaged in 21 "extra matches" which will count towards each individual's record this season.
What's Ahead
• Navy will be back in action a week from Monday when it makes the short trip to our nation's capital where it will battle EIWA foe American.
Navy 21, Lehigh 9
125 | Jaret Lane dec Logan Treaster (NAVY), 1-0 // Navy 0, Lehigh 3
133 | Malyke Hines dec Jacob Allen (NAVY), 2-0 (1:52 RT) // Navy 0, Lehigh 6
141 | #12 Cody Trybus (NAVY) dec Connor McGonagle, 5-3 (1:57 RT) // Navy 3, Lehigh 6
149 | Casey Cobb (NAVY) dec Jimmy Hoffman, 5-2 // Navy 6, Lehigh 6
157 | Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) dec AJ Burkhart, 9-8 (1:27 RT) // Navy 9, Lehigh 6
165 | #8 Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) dec Brian Meyer, 2-0 (1:45 RT) // Navy 12, Lehigh 6
174 | Jake Logan dec Dean Caravela (NAVY), 7-4 // Navy 12, Lehigh 9
184 | David Key (NAVY) dec JT Davis, 5-3 // Navy 15, Lehigh 9
197 | Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec #15 Jake Jakobsen, 6-1 // Navy 18, Lehigh 9
285 | John Birchmeier (NAVY) dec Victor Lacombe, 3-1 // Navy 21, Lehigh 9
Extra Matches
125 | Logan Treaster (NAVY) dec Sheldon Seymour, 6-4
133 | Jacob Allen (NAVY) dec Mitchell Polito, 2-1
133 | Luke Lucerne (NAVY) dec Satoshi Abe, 8-6
133 | Malyke Hines major Luke Lucerne (NAVY), 13-3
141 | Cody Trybus (NAVY) dec Joe Lobeck, 7-1
141 | Tyler Hunt (NAVY) dec Joe Lobeck, 8-2
141 | Tyler Hunt (NAVY) major Steven Storm, 12-2
149 | Jimmy Hoffman dec PJ Crane (NAVY), 2-1 TB
157 | Manzona Bryant dec PJ Crane (NAVY), 9-2
157 | AJ Burkhart dec Wyatt Long (NAVY), 5-4
165 | Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) major Thayne Lawrence, 9-0
165 | Henry Hague (NAVY) dec Thayne Lawrence, 10-4
165 | Henry Hague (NAVY) dec Brian Meyer, 3-2
174 | Dean Caravela (NAVY) dec Connor Herceg, 7-3
174 | Connor Herceg dec Gary Eakin (NAVY), 8-3
174 | Jake Logan dec Gary Eakin (NAVY), 9-5
184 | Caden Wright dec Zander Manuel (NAVY), 7-1
184 | JT Davis fall Zander Manuel (NAVY), 2:45
285 | John Birchmeier (NAVY) dec Eli Jones, 9-3
285 | Riley Smith (NAVY) fall Eli Jones, 4:46
285 | Riley Smith (NAVY) dec Victor Lacombe, 4-2
After dropping its first two matches of the evening by a combined three points, the Navy wrestling team (2-1, 1-0 EIWA) went on to win seven of the final eight bouts to secure a 21-9 victory over 18th-ranked Lehigh (0-2, 0-1 EIWA) Saturday evening at Alumni Hall. It marked the first win by the Midshipmen over the reigning EIWA champions since edging Lehigh 19-15 in Annapolis on Jan. 15, 2011. It was also just the third win by Navy in the series over the last 25 meetings (2007, 2011, 2021).
"It's good to get the win," said first-year Navy head coach Cary Kolat, whose Mids held Lehigh to single digits for the first time in the series since Jan. 28, 1995 (22-9). "I think there were some matches where our guys wrestled a little apprehensive. Lehigh is a traditional powerhouse school and I know it's been a long time since we've beaten them, so it was time to get a win over Lehigh and get it going.
"We've got to open up a little bit more. We have to have more of an open style of wrestling and put some points on the board and not have so many close ones. We need to be more open mentally. Sometimes you've got to win ugly matches as we say. 141 was sort of an ugly match, 149 was an ugly match in terms of their grip and you've got to win those ... 157 was another one. It was great after seeing 125 and 133 not come through to get that momentum back on our side. That's what is important when you are in a big dual meet. David Key won another grippy, grindy match. I thought Koser looked good and John Birchmeier was great, he put the icing on the cake. He looked very dynamic tonight and I think once John starts attacking the other side he will be a force to reckon with."
The Highlights
• The Midshipmen are now 2-1 on the year, including 1-1 at home.
• Saturday's dual marked the 101st meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1910.
• Lehigh leads the series, 53-48, and entered Saturday evening's match having won nine in a row against the Mids.
• Navy now owns a 38-24 advantage in matches wrestled in Annapolis against the Mountain Hawks.
• Nine of the 10 matches were decided by 3 or fewer points and all 10 were won by decision.
• After trailing 6-0 to open the dual, Navy tied the match at 6-6 behind a 5-2 victory by Casey Cobb (149) over Jimmy Hoffman, who was a 2020 NCAA qualifier and was the No. 2 seed in last year's EIWA Tournament.
• Navy took its first lead (9-6) and held on for good thanks to a 9-8 victory by freshman Andrew Cerniglia (157). Cerniglia scored the takedown with 22 seconds remaining in the match and his 1:27 of riding time gave him the match-winning point.
• Second-year starter Jacob Koser (197) not only upset 15th-ranked Jake Jakobsen, a two-time NCAA qualifier, his 6-1 victory also sealed the team victory for the Mids.
• The win by Koser marked his first-career win over a ranked opponent, as he was 0-3 against ranked foes a year ago and is 1-1 this season (lost to #11 Greg Bulsak of Clarion last week).
• Cody Trybus (133), Casey Cobb (149) and Andrew Cerniglia (157) improved to 3-0 in dual action this season, while David Key, (184), Jacob Koser (197) and John Birchmeier (285) are also undefeated at 2-0.
• Additionally, the two programs engaged in 21 "extra matches" which will count towards each individual's record this season.
What's Ahead
• Navy will be back in action a week from Monday when it makes the short trip to our nation's capital where it will battle EIWA foe American.
Navy 21, Lehigh 9
125 | Jaret Lane dec Logan Treaster (NAVY), 1-0 // Navy 0, Lehigh 3
133 | Malyke Hines dec Jacob Allen (NAVY), 2-0 (1:52 RT) // Navy 0, Lehigh 6
141 | #12 Cody Trybus (NAVY) dec Connor McGonagle, 5-3 (1:57 RT) // Navy 3, Lehigh 6
149 | Casey Cobb (NAVY) dec Jimmy Hoffman, 5-2 // Navy 6, Lehigh 6
157 | Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) dec AJ Burkhart, 9-8 (1:27 RT) // Navy 9, Lehigh 6
165 | #8 Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) dec Brian Meyer, 2-0 (1:45 RT) // Navy 12, Lehigh 6
174 | Jake Logan dec Dean Caravela (NAVY), 7-4 // Navy 12, Lehigh 9
184 | David Key (NAVY) dec JT Davis, 5-3 // Navy 15, Lehigh 9
197 | Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec #15 Jake Jakobsen, 6-1 // Navy 18, Lehigh 9
285 | John Birchmeier (NAVY) dec Victor Lacombe, 3-1 // Navy 21, Lehigh 9
Extra Matches
125 | Logan Treaster (NAVY) dec Sheldon Seymour, 6-4
133 | Jacob Allen (NAVY) dec Mitchell Polito, 2-1
133 | Luke Lucerne (NAVY) dec Satoshi Abe, 8-6
133 | Malyke Hines major Luke Lucerne (NAVY), 13-3
141 | Cody Trybus (NAVY) dec Joe Lobeck, 7-1
141 | Tyler Hunt (NAVY) dec Joe Lobeck, 8-2
141 | Tyler Hunt (NAVY) major Steven Storm, 12-2
149 | Jimmy Hoffman dec PJ Crane (NAVY), 2-1 TB
157 | Manzona Bryant dec PJ Crane (NAVY), 9-2
157 | AJ Burkhart dec Wyatt Long (NAVY), 5-4
165 | Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) major Thayne Lawrence, 9-0
165 | Henry Hague (NAVY) dec Thayne Lawrence, 10-4
165 | Henry Hague (NAVY) dec Brian Meyer, 3-2
174 | Dean Caravela (NAVY) dec Connor Herceg, 7-3
174 | Connor Herceg dec Gary Eakin (NAVY), 8-3
174 | Jake Logan dec Gary Eakin (NAVY), 9-5
184 | Caden Wright dec Zander Manuel (NAVY), 7-1
184 | JT Davis fall Zander Manuel (NAVY), 2:45
285 | John Birchmeier (NAVY) dec Eli Jones, 9-3
285 | Riley Smith (NAVY) fall Eli Jones, 4:46
285 | Riley Smith (NAVY) dec Victor Lacombe, 4-2
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