Army won six of 10 bouts and upset EIWA rival, No. 25 Columbia, 21-13. Columbia was ranked 25th in the latest InterMat poll.
The Black Knights were the aggressors from the beginning and improved to 10-4 overall and 6-1 in the EIWA. Columbia fell to 4-2 overall and 0-2 in conference meets.
"We definitely talked about taking the match to our opponents," Barbee said. "After Harvard, we were just flat and tonight the guys really stepped up and showed good fight, the kind of Army fight that we need."
Nathan Thobaben opened the dual with a fall at heavyweight and Fernando Martinez, Matt Kyler, Christian Snook, Brian Rowan and Scott Ferguson all won decisions as the Black Knights beat Columbia for the second straight season.
The match stated at heavyweight and Thobaben got the Black Knights off to a great start with a first-period fall over Kevin Lester. Lester scored an early takedown at the edge of the mat. Seconds later, Thobaben stood up and escaped. He then took Lester down and to his back and racked up his third fall of the season in 1:27. On Sunday, Lester pinned Paul Weibel of Lehigh, the 20th ranked wrestler in the country.
"Nathan really set the tone," Barbee said. "He beat a very good heavyweight and got us off on the right foot."
Martinez extended the Army advantage to 9-0 with a 4-0 decision at 125. Following a scoreless first period, Martinez took down to start the second period and needed just seven seconds to escape. He added a takedown later and almost scored back points but led 3-0 after the second period. He rode out Brandon Kinney for the entire third period and had more than three minutes of riding time for his 18th victory of the season.
Army's William Simpson dropped a tough match at 133 that made it 9-3. There was no scoring in the first period against Matt DeLorenzo, the 18th ranked wrestler in the country according to InterMat. Simpson aggressively rode out DeLorenzo in the second period. He chose neutral in the third and was taken down with 50 seconds left. He tried several rolls to score the escape or reversal but could not get the point needed to force overtime and dropped a 2-1 decision.
Kyler put together three takedowns and an escape on the way to an 8-3 win at 141. Kyler had a takedown midway through the first period, an escape and takedown in the second and a final takedown in the third period to make it 12-3 Army after four weights. He also had more than two minutes of riding time on the way to his team-best 25th win of the season.
Columbia cut its deficit to five, 12-7 with a major decision by Matt Dunn at 149, 9-0.
Snook battled his way to a 4-3 win at 157 to give the Black Knights an eight-point advantage. Columbia's Devon Mesanko had a first-period takedown but Snook escaped seconds later. Mesanko took down to start the second period and Snook took him to his back for two more points and had more than 90 seconds of riding time. Snook chose top in the final period and Mesanko escaped to make it 3-3 but with riding time Snook scored a 4-3 decision and made the match score 15-7.
"Wrestling is much more fun when you just go after and don't have the burden of winning or losing," Barbee said. "Tonight we just went after it and it showed that good things will happen."
Rowan also rebounded from an early deficit and put Army ahead 18-7. Ricky Turk had a reversal after a scoreless first period but Rowan quickly escaped. Rowan then took him down later in the period to make it 3-2. He added a third-period escape for the final 4-2 margin.
The Lions closed within eight points but Brent Smith made them work for it. Columbia's Matt Palmer led 4-0 early in the second period. Smith escaped but Palmer had a takedown to make it 6-1. Palmer escaped to open the third period and also had riding time for an 8-1 lead. Smith, though, had a takedown and took Palmer to his back for three points. He could not get the fall though and fell 8-6.
Ferguson clinched the match with an impressive showing at 184. Andy Geving of Columbia had an early takedown but Ferguson controlled the match from the second period on. He had a takedown early in the second period and then a pair of double-leg takedowns and riding time for a 10-4 win that gave Army a 21-10 advantage.
The final bout of the evening needed sudden victory to determine a winner and it was Columbia's Nick Sommerfield earning the victory with a takedown 17 seconds in the extra one-minute session.
Army will wrestle at the Academy Championships, Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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