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Sept. 29, 2006

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy golf team will travel to West Point, N.Y. this weekend to battle archrival Army in the annual Star Match. Navy, who has won six of the last eight Star Matches, is looking to snap the Black Knights' two-match winning streak on the links.

A two-day, 36-hole event, the meet will be played in the Ryder Cup style of play with four 4-ball matches played on Saturday and seven singles matches played on Sunday. The first team to reach six points will be declared the winner.

"Our team is very much looking forward to playing against Army for the Star this weekend," said Navy head coach Pat Owen, who owns an 8-8 record in dual action against the Black Knights. "It's a great rivalry and should be a very competitive match. Despite our youth, we have prepared thoroughly for the event and our guys are confident they will execute to the best of their ability. "

This weekend's matchup marks the fourth time in seven years the meet will be played at West Point, and is the eighth time in the last 10 years in which the meet will be played as match play versus stroke play. The Black Knights own a 5-2 series advantage over the Mids in meets played on their home course, though Navy has won two of the last three battles at West Point.

In last year's competition played at the USNA Golf Course, Army owned a narrow 2.5-1.5 lead after the 4-ball matches, needing to win four of the seven singles matches on Sunday. Despite the Midshipmen winning two of the first three matches, the Black Knights were triumphant in four of the singles competitions, defeating Navy, 6.5-4.5.

This weekend's golf dual will be the third Army-Navy contest of the year and the second Star competition. Navy's sprint football team picked up a 31-21 victory over Army in the Pride Bowl last weekend in a non-Star Game battle. Tonight, the Mids face-off against the Black Knights on the volleyball court in front of a national audience. The two teams square off at Navy's Alumni Hall beginning at 7:00 pm with CSTV televising the match (tape delayed on Sunday at 6:00 pm).

Navy leads the all-time series among all sporting events against Army, 848-645-38 (.567). Last year, Navy won the battle of the Star competitions, 14-8, as well as the the overall head-to-head matchups, 18-14. Over the last nine seasons, Navy has dominated the series, winning 66.3 percent (185-93-5) of the events, while earning a Star in 69.6 percent (134-57-5) of the Star battles. Last year, Navy won Stars in volleyball, men's soccer, sprint football, women's swimming, men's swimming, football, men's indoor track & field, women's indoor track & field, men's basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, women's outdoor track & field, lacrosse and tennis.