• Sport Home
• |
• Roster
• |
• Schedule
• |
• Stats 
• |
• Archives

Jan. 31, 2007

1-23-07 EIWA Rankings

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - According to the latest Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) rankings, the 9-4 Navy wrestling team is ranked No. 1 among the 14-team conference. It marks the first time the Mids have held the No. 1 spot in the poll since former head coach Reg Wicks led Navy to the EIWA team title in 1990.

"At this time of the year, the EIWA poll is based on dual meets," said Bruce Burnett, who is in his seventh season as the Mids' head coach. "We have a very good dual meet team, in fact we have a solid tournament team. We've made steady progress throughout the season and have a much more competitive room this year. It's taken a lot of hard work and commitment by our team.

"I'm excited about being ranked No. 1 in the conference because the other coaches have taken notice of our improvement and rewarded us. The EIWA is a tough conference. Our guys have earned everything they have received."

The Mids, who have jumped from sixth in the original poll to third in the mid-year EIWA poll to now No. 1, own a 5-0 record in EIWA matches, defeating Rutgers (42-0), American (31-9), Brown (35-3), Lehigh (26-12) and East Stroudsburg (40-6). Navy will face EIWA members Bucknell (Feb. 10) and Army (Feb. 18) in back-to-back weekends before traveling to East Stroudsburg to compete in the 2007 EIWA Championship on March 2-3.

While Navy tops the field, Lehigh, Cornell, Penn and Columbia round out the poll's top-five teams.

Eight Midshipmen are among the top six in their respective weight classes according to the third edition of the EIWA Rankings, including second-ranked Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) at 174 who is the highest-ranked Navy wrestler in the EIWA standings. Stolpinski, who is ranked 10th in this week's USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Rankings, is just one win away from joining Navy's 30-win club for the second-consecutive season. Boasting a 29-5 record, he has turned in an 11-2 dual meet record this winter. He heads into this weekend's All-Academy Championship on a five-match winning streak that includes four-straight bonus-point wins.

Second-year standout Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) is one of four Navy wrestlers ranked third at their respective weight classes. Baker has produced a 15-3 record at 133 pounds this season, winning four in a row. He has won seven of his eight dual matches this year, including a 3-0 mark in EIWA competition. He trails Penn's Matt Valenti, who is ranked No. 2 in the national polls, as well as Cornell's Adam Frey, who is third. Baker is also ranked ninth according to the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Rankings.

Senior 149-pounder John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) has been bothered by injuries since the turn of the calendar year, but remains highly ranked by both the EIWA, as well as the national publications. Cox is No. 3 in the EIWA standings behind Cornell's Jordan Leen, ranked No. 4 in the country, and J.P. O'Connor from Harvard, who is the nation's seventh-ranked wrestler. Cox owns a 22-6 record this season, including a 7-1 mark in dual meet action. He has won four in a row, including an 11-2 major decision over Oklahoma State's B.J. Jackson at the Lone Star Duals. Cox owns a 105-35 career record and stands seventh on Navy's all-time wins list, trailing sixth-place Scott Schleicher (1986-90) by six wins.

Team captain John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) has also enjoyed a successful senior campaign on the mats where he is ranked third in the EIWA at 157 pounds and boasts a 24-9 record. Jarred is one of only two Navy wrestlers to post double-digit wins in dual meet competition this season, as he has earned a 10-3 record.

The final wrestler ranked third in his weight class is heavyweight Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) who is nationally-ranked ninth. Prendergast, who owns a 27-5 record this winter, has won eighth-consecutive matches, including four against nationally-ranked competition. Additionally, five of his wins during that span have been by fall. On the year, he owns a 12-0 mark in falls. Prendergast is 9-2 in dual matches this season, dropping a 6-3 decision to Northwestern's Dustin Fox who is currently ranked fourth in the country, while losing an 11-4 decision to American's Adam LoPiccolo who is second in the EIWA and ranked sixth in the country.

Fourth-ranked 125-pounder Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) has recorded a 23-11 record in his senior season, the most wins in his four-year career. He also owns a 7-5 dual meet record, winning each of his last two duals by technical fall. The top-ranked 125-pounder in the EIWA is Cornell's Troy Nickerson who is ranked second in the national polls.

Navy's final two wrestlers, 141-pounder Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.) and 184-pounder Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.), are ranked sixth in the EIWA. Canterbury has been faced with some tough competition in recent weeks, but remains a contender in EIWA action. He has recorded a 23-14 record this season, nine wins more than he posted a year ago. Miranda, meanwhile, has had an impressive senior campaign, boasting a 25-9 record, including a 9-3 mark in dual meet action. He has won five in a row, including four-consecutive major decisions. He is 12-1 in major decisions this season and 16-2 for his career. Four of the five wrestlers ranked ahead of him are among the nation's top 20, but Miranda could face Army's Scott Ferguson (unranked) at this weekend's All-Academy Championship in Colorado Springs.