"We wanted to test the men's resiliency tonight and that we did," said second-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "EIWA wrestling is tough and tonight these guys had to earn every point. Drexel has a great group of wrestlers and we had to make adjustments as needed once the fur was flying. We, as coaches, challenged the team and they put in the hard work and did what was necessary to get the rest and recovery to perform at a high level."
Drexel took its lone lead in the match by winning the first bout of the evening, a 5-2 victory by 125-pound redshirt sophomore Zack Fuentes over Navy sophomore Brant Leadbeter (Owings, Md.).
That lead would be short-lived, however.
Drexel redshirt senior Frank Ferraina was able to put together a pair of takedowns in the first period to open a 4-2 lead on Navy sophomore Zack Davis (Granger, Ind.) at 133 pounds. Davis was able to get the escape just eight seconds into the second period to trim the deficit to one. With under 30 seconds to go in the period, Davis was able to stretch Ferraina out, extending him into a vertical position which led to Davis' fourth win this season by fall. The win gave Navy a 6-3 lead in the match and one it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
While Navy went on to win two of the next four bouts - a 5-3 win by freshman Nicholas Gil (Crystal Lake, Ill.) at 141 pounds and a 3-2 victory by sophomore Drew Daniels (Overland Park, Kan.) at 157 pounds - the Dragons fought their way back into the match thanks to two bonus-point victories to get within one with four bouts to go.
Although Navy held a slim 12-11 advantage, the Mids were in perfect position to strike with the next two matches featuring nationally-ranked wrestlers for Navy.
Sophomore Jadaen Bernstein (Glen Gardner, N.J.), ranked 18th by InterMat at 174 pounds, fell behind in his match against Drexel redshirt sophomore Nick Elmer, as Elmer pitched the first points with a takedown just over a minute into the bout. Bernstein answered quickly with an escape that led to an immediate takedown for a 3-2 advantage by the end of the first period. Elmer knotted the match with an escape, but Bernstein built better than two minutes of riding time by the end of the period with his second takedown to take a 5-3 lead. The defending EIWA champion entered the final period with one thing in mind and that was bonus points. He registered three takedowns and forced Elmer into two penalty points for stalling to score a 15-5 major decision in what was Bernstein's 23rd win of the season. Last season he finished the year with 24 wins.
Fifteenth-ranked Mathew Miller (Edgewood, Md.) nearly had his foe, Drexel sophomore Stephen Loiseau, pinned in the first period at 184 pounds, but instead took a 6-0 lead (takedown, 4-point near fall) into the second period. Miller wasted little time in getting the escape and taking Loiseau down for a 9-0 lead. Once again, Miller clamped down on Loiseau and this time was able to get the fall at 4:04. For Miller, it was his 10th win this season (of 19) by fall and his 33rd career pin.
Navy senior 197-pound Michael Woulfe (Oak Park, Ill.) trailed in the early seconds of his match, but a quick escape and takedown erased the deficit with a minute to go in the first period. He built a 6-2 lead heading into the final period. With time winding down, Woulfe was looking to use the same move as Zack Davis did earlier in the match, forcing Nezar Haddad's shoulder's to the mat as his legs were extended in the air. Woulfe's initial effort would fall short, but a second effort resulted in the referee slapping the mat for the pin as time expired. Upon further consultation with the clock operator, Woulfe would be denied the win by fall, but did capture the win by a 9-4 count. It would also seal the Navy victory as the Mids pushed the lead to 14 (25-11).
Despite Navy's Nick Mabry's (New Braunfels, Texas) near-pin in the early part of the his match with Drexel heavyweight Joey Goodhart, Goodhart went on to earn the 6-4 victory in the final bout of the night.
Navy will be back in action Saturday evening when it makes the short trip to Washington, DC to battle American. Action is set for 7:00 pm at Bender Arena and a live video stream will be available via PatriotLeague.com(.)
"We have a big challenge tomorrow with American. These guys are weighing in two days in a row and competing against another EIWA opponent. This is what they will have to do at the EIWA Tournament and NCAA Championship and we want to see how they deal with those off-the-mat challenges like weight management, recovery, nutrition for peak performance and mentally attacking in every opportunity. I am confident they will be ready!"
Results:
125 - Zack Fuentes (D) dec Brant Leadbeter (N), 5-2 0-3
133 - Zack Davis (N) fall Frank Ferraina (D), 4:32 6-3
141 - Nicholas Gil (N) dec Kevin Devoy (D), 5-3 9-3
149 - #13 Matt Cimato (D) major Corey Wilding (N), 8-0 9-7
157 - Drew Daniels (N) dec Richard Viruet (D), 3-2 12-7
165 - Austin Rose (D) major Michael Coleman (N), 10-2 12-11
174 - #18 Jadaen Bernstein (N) major Nick Elmer (D), 15-5 16-11
184 - #15 Mathew Miller (N) fall Stephen Loiseau (D), 4:04 22-11
197 - Michael Woulfe (N) dec Nezar Haddad (D), 9-4 25-11
285 - Joey Goodhart (D) dec Nick Mabry (N), 6-4 25-14
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now