Navy Wrestling – Mids release schedule

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Five home duals, including matchups against nationally-ranked Lehigh and Rutgers, along with the annual Navy Classic highlight Navy’s 2010-11 wrestling schedule released Wednesday by 11th-year Midshipmen wrestling coach Bruce Burnett.

In keeping with Burnett’s coaching philosophy, the Midshipmen will spend the majority of the first half of the season competing amid the national tournament scene. The Mids kick off the season at the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 6, a tournament Navy has competed in each of the last six years.

The Mids return home on Nov. 20 to play host to the Navy Classic, a tournament whose roots date back to 1978 and has seen the Midshipmen win 17 of the 32 team titles. Twenty-two Navy wrestlers placed in the annual event a year ago, including junior Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) who won the 125-pound title and 165-pound Oscar Huntley (Stafford, Va.) who swept the weight class in what was his rookie season.

Making the first of two trips to the state of Nevada in the month of December, Navy will take part in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 3-4.

The Mids will squeeze in the first dual of the 2010-11 campaign and first of five at Halsey Field House in Annapolis, when they play host to Franklin & Marshall on Dec. 10. The Mids own a flawless 18-0 record against the Diplomats, however the teams have not met on the mat since the 2004-05 season when the Mids clipped F&M, 34-12.

Navy heads back to Nevada on Dec. 19 where it will compete in the one-day Reno Tournament of Champions before closing out the month at the Southern Scuffle on Dec. 29-30. The Mids have competed in each of the last six Scuffle’s and have placed among the top 10 in each of those appearances.

Among the five tournaments Navy will participate in the first two months, the Mids will see 48 of the top 50 teams that placed at the 2010 NCAA Championship.

“I hear a lot of teams that talk about how difficult their schedule is, but quite frankly when you put it on paper I would challenge anyone who thinks they have a tough schedule that what our wrestlers will face,” said Burnett. “My focus is on the national tournament and to prepare them, we need to be able to see and compete against the guys that we will see at the end of the year at the National Championship. Additionally, we feel like our wrestlers need to know what it feels like mentally and physically to challenge for the podium and so by wrestling at these tournaments it provides the best experience in knowing how to grind it out match after match and against the best wrestlers in the country.”

While Burnett values the benefits tournaments provide during the early part of the season, he equally praises the extra practice time his wrestlers receive over the latter months of competition by competing in duals.

“Without a doubt, dual meets are important to the sport of wrestling, as well as to its loyal fan base,” added Burnett. “For us, we need more practice time over the second half of the season and by wrestling once or twice in a week it allows us to fine tune some of those areas we need to tighten up in order to be ready for the national tournament. It’s proven well for our program in the past and I feel confident that it will help this year, as well.”

Burnett has put together a strong dual ledger that leads off the month of January with a trip to Oklahoma (Jan. 7). The Sooners return two All-Americans and are ranked seventh in both the Amateur Wrestling News and WIN Magazine Preseason Polls. No stranger to the Oklahoma program, Navy has battled the Sooners in prior seasons at the Lone Star Duals, however a change in date of the Duals has not been conducive to the Mids’ schedule in recent years.

Navy will play host to Lehigh on Jan. 15, the first of four home duals during the month of January. The Mountain Hawks have gotten the better of Navy in recent years, however, the Mids took a 16-12 victory over Lehigh in 2007 and this year’s dual is sure to be an exciting one.

The following weekend, the Mids will play host to Liberty (Jan. 21), a team Navy has met in dual action on just one previous occasion. Navy defeated the Flames 34-2 back in 1982, however Liberty is a much-improved program and placed just outside of the top 50 at last year’s NCAA Championship. After an evening battle with the Flames, Navy will head to College Park, Md. to face Maryland the following afternoon (Jan. 22) Having met every year since 1951, Navy owns a 48-10-3 series advantage. That said, third-year head coach Kerry McCoy has the Terrapin program moving in the right direction and has led them to three-straight narrow wins over the Mids.

Navy will close out the month with home duals on back-to-back nights, kicking it off with a 7:00 pm bout against North Carolina on Jan. 28. The Mids have won seven of the last eight duals against the Tar Heels, including a 21-15 decision in last year’s competition. Navy will celebrate Senior Night on Jan. 29 when it faces Rutgers in the home finale. The Scarlet Knights have won just four matches all-time against the Midshipmen, however fourth-year head coach Scott Goodale has put Rutgers back on the map. The Scarlet Knights are No. 25 on the Amateur Wrestling News Preseason Poll and one of seven teams representing the EIWA who are ranked among the top 50 teams in the country.

After claiming the program’s ninth All-Academy Championship title in the midst of a major blizzard last year in Annapolis, the Mids will defend their title on Feb. 6 when The Citadel hosts the 17th installment of the All-Academy Championship. Navy has been the dominant team in the tournament, winning nine of the 16 championships including six of the last seven. Navy has won 59 individual crowns in All-Academy Championship history, including 33 of the 70 titles over the last seven years. The Mids won the team title in 1995, `97, `99, `04, `05, `06, `07, `09 and ‘10, while they have claimed five or more individual titles in 1997, `99, `04, `05, `07, `08 and in ‘10. Last year, six Midshipmen won individual crowns, while four others placed second.

Just 13 days later, on Feb. 19, the Mids will travel to West Point, N.Y. to battle Army in the annual Star Match. After dropping two of the first three bouts of last year’s dual, Navy went on to win the remaining seven and earn a 26-6 victory over Army. While the Midshipmen own a 44-5-5 series advantage, the rout marked Navy’s 10th consecutive win over its service academy rival.

The month of March is dedicated to a pair of championships, the EIWA Championship and the NCAA Championship. Bucknell will be the host institution for this year’s EIWA Championship set for March 5-6 in Lewisburg, Pa. Anchored by the efforts of three NCAA Championship qualifiers and seven overall placewinners, Navy placed seventh out of 13 teams at the 106th EIWA Championship. A year ago, Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) and Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.) each qualified in their respective weight classes (157 & 165) following the first day of action, while 2009-0 team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) punched his ticket the following day by upsetting the No. 2 seed in the consolations semis at 149 pounds.

The 2010-11 NCAA Championship will be held March 17-19 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Four Navy wrestlers helped lead the Midshipmen to an 43rd-place finish at the 2009-10 NCAA Championship at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Saddoris, Kalil, Neill and 2008-09 NCAA qualifier Luke Rebertus (Gloucester, Va.) return to the mat for the Mids this season.

The first glance at the 2010-11 Midshipmen squad will be Oct. 30 when Navy holds its annual Blue / Gold Challenge Match. The match is slated to begin at 7:00 pm at Halsey Field House.

Courtesy of Navy Sports Information.