The Navy wrestling team (8-2, 3-1 EIWA) will close out the regular season on Friday evening with the annual Star Match against archrival Army West Point (2-6, 1-3 EIWA).
Action is set for 7:30 pm at Alumni Hall. A free live video stream will be available by logging on to NavySports.com or PatriotLeague.tv(.)
How to Follow: https://watchstadium.com/live/army-west-point-at-navy-5/
The Series
• Friday's match marks the 62nd meeting between Army and Navy in a rivalry that dates back to a 17-8 win by the Mids on March 2, 1957 in Annapolis.
• Navy has been the dominant team in the series, boasting a 49-7-5 advantage, including a 27-1-2 record in matches staged in Annapolis.
• The Midshipmen have suffered just three setbacks (1997, 19-12 / 2015, 21-10 / 2017, 19-14) to Army in the last 55 matches, as Navy owns a spectacular 47-3-5 record during that span.
• Last year, Army won the final two matches to edge the Mids, 19-14, in West Point.
• Navy holds a 1055-800-43 (.567) all-time record against Army. In overall meetings against the Cadets over the last 22 years, Navy owns a 409-261-10 (.600) record including a 305-167-10 (.643) lead in Star Games.
• Heading into Friday's Star Match, Army owns an 8-6-2 advantage in the annual Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA, while the two schools are locked up at 9-9-2 (.500) in overall head-to-head competitions this year.
NAVY
- Fourth-year head coach Joel Sharratt has led the Midshipmen to an 8-2 dual meet mark that features a 3-1 record in EIWA matches.
- The Mids are coming off an extraordinary performance (W, 43-0) against George Mason a week ago that saw Navy post its first shutout over a Div. I program since 2006 (Rutgers).
- With his pin over George Mason's Bryce Reddington in 1:32, Navy senior Zack Davis became just the 15th wrestler in school history and the second this season to reach 100 career wins. He currently stands 15th on the Mids' career wins list with a 100-50 record, trailing 14th-place Aaron Kalil (2009-12) by just one win. Additionally, Davis is tied for seventh on the Mids' career matches wrestled leader board with 150.
- The second edition of the NCAA Coaches Panel Rankings were released Feb. 5 and included six Navy wrestlers - #17 Nicholas Gil (Crystal Lake, Ill.) at 141, #24 Corey Wilding at 149, #26 Zack Davis at 157, #19 Drew Daniels at 165, #8 Jadaen Bernstein at 174 and #17 Michael Coleman at 184. Gil (#20), Daniels (#20), Bernstein (#8) and Coleman (#18) are among the InterMat National Rankings this week, as well.
- Six of Navy's 10 starters enter the Army match riding winning streaks of four or more, while four of the six have won at least six straight matches. Topping that list is Michael Coleman who has won 10 consecutive matches.
- Fifteen wrestlers have reached double-digit wins this season, while five of those 15 have won 20 or more matches. Michael Coleman is just three wins shy of becoming just the 48th different wrestler in school history to win 30 matches in a season. He stands atop the wins list with 27, while Nicholas Gil owns a 26-6 record. Gil has won at least 20 matches in each of his three seasons - 25-16 as a freshman, 21-7 as a sophomore and 26-6 as a junior. Coleman, meanwhile, recorded 22 wins a year ago.
- Zack Davis (24-9), Corey Wilding (23-7) and Drew Daniels (22-3) all reached the 20-win milestone on Jan. 27 at the All-Academy Championship, while Jadaen Bernstein needs one more victory to make it four straight years with 20 or more wins.
- Following a 7-3 win over Old Dominion's Seldon Wright on Feb. 2, Jadaen Bernstein broke into the top 10 of Navy's career wins list with a 108-40 record. He is currently tied for 10th alongside former teammate Peyton Walsh (2012-15) and trails ninth-place Scott Schleicher (1987-00) by four. Bernstein also stands among the top 10 in career matches wrestled with 148 (#9). Bernstein is 3-0 in dual action this season and stands 24-4 in dual matches over his career.
Projected Navy Lineup
• 125 | Aslan Kilic (Fr, 10-10 overall, 3-4 dual)
• 133 | Cody Trybus (Fr, 13-12, 5-4)
• 141 | #20 Nicholas Gil (Jr, 26-6, 6-2)
• 149 | Corey Wilding (Sr, 23-7, 7-1)
• 157 | Zack Davis (Sr, 24-9, 7-2)
• 165 | #20 Drew Daniels (Sr, 22-3, 8-1)
• 174 | #8 Jadaen Bernstein (Sr, 19-3, 3-0)
• 184 | #18 Michael Coleman (Sr, 27-5, 8-0)
• 197 | Steban Cervantes (Sr, 10-7, 4-2)
• 285 | Austin Faunce (Sr, 13-13, 3-4)
ARMY
- Fourth-year head coach Kevin Ward has directed a young Army squad to a 2-6 record this season, including a 1-3 mark against EIWA competition
- Army won last year's dual versus the Mids, 19-14, after trailing 14-13 heading into the final two bouts.
- Four of the Black Knights' five returners from last year's lineup earned wins in the 2017 dual.
- Last time out, the Cadets posted a come-from-behind 22-19 victory at Bucknell for their first conference dual win of the year
- Army was behind 16-3 after the first four matches, but battled back by winning five of the last six bouts with three bonus point victories.
- The Black Knights have wins over Duke (23-20) and Bucknell (22-19), while their losses have come against defending National Champion Penn State (45-3), Wyoming (38-3), North Carolina (28-12), Penn (19-18), Drexel (20-12) and Lehigh (30-6).
- Among the projected lineup for Friday night's dual, seven wrestlers are either freshmen or sophomores, while two are juniors and just one senior is expected to start.
- Rookie 133-pound Lane Peters sits atop the Black Knights' wins leader board with an 18-12 record, while second-year 157-pound Lucas Weiland is second with his 17-13 mark. Sophomore 174-pound Ben Harvey stands 14-7 this season, but leads the team in dual wins with a 5-2 record.
Projected Army Lineup
• 125 | Trey Chalifoux (So, 16-11, 4-3)
• 133 | Lane Peters (Fr, 18-12, 3-5)
• 141 | Austin Harry (Jr, 15-14, 4-4)
• 149 | Will Lucie (Fr, 16-10, 1-3)
• 157 | Lucas Weiland (So, 17-13, 1-6)
• 165 | Andrew Mendel (Sr, 15-6, 1-1)
• 174 | Ben Harvey (So, 14-7, 5-2)
• 184 | Noah Stewart (So, 15-12, 2-6)
• 197 | Rocco Caywood (Jr, 15-10, 1-4)
• 285 | Bobby Heald (Fr, 10-14, 1-6)
Admission for Friday night's match is $10 for adults and $3 for youth (18 & under). A reminder that vehicular access to the Naval Academy is limited to those drivers with a Department of Defense identification card. It is suggested that fans park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium ($5 per vehicle) and ride the FREE shuttle bus to and from the tournament. Note that a government issued identification card must be carried and presented by visitors to the USNA prior to being allowed onto The Yard.