March 19, 2008
•2008 NCAA Wrestling Bracket
NCAA Wrestling Notes
The Road to the 78th NCAA Wrestling Championship
• Five members of the Navy wrestling team will begin their journeys for an NCAA title on Thursday morning at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. Session 1 of the tournament is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. CDT.
• Representing Navy are three-time qualifiers Matt Stolpinski (174, team captain) and Joe Baker (133) and two-time qualifier Ed Prendergast (HWT), while making their first appearance are senior Spencer Manley (157) and rookie Bryce Saddoris (149).
• For the fourth-consecutive year, Navy has at least five wrestlers advancing to the championship.
• The Mids are looking to build off of last year's 18th-place finish, their best since 1989-90 when Navy finished 13th.
• The program's best finish in NCAA Tournament action was a fourth-place finish in 1954.
• Meanwhile, after becoming Navy's first All-American since 2003, team captain Matt Stolpinski is looking to be crowned a two-time All-American ... should he accomplish the feat, he would be only the 18th wrestler in program history to claim All-America recognition multiple times ... he would be Navy's first two-time All-American since Mark Conley earned the honor in 2001 and again in `02.
• With three of the five wrestlers seeded, including two in the top 10 (Ed Prendergast 3, Matt Stolpinski 7), the Mids have a solid chance of having two stand atop the championship platform ... the last time two Navy wrestlers garnered All-America recognition was in 1989-90 when Scott Schleicher (HWT) and Brett Bourne (158) finished 2nd and 5th, respectively.
• Navy has won three national titles, by two men - Pete Blair won the 191-pound title in 1954 and `55, while Dan Muthler earned the crown in 1973 at 142 pounds.
• At least one Navy wrestler has participated in the NCAA Championship in each of the last 12 years, including all eight under head coach Bruce Burnett.
• This is Navy's 60th NCAA Tournament appearance ... in addition to winning three individual titles, 55 wrestlers have garnered All-America recognition, including four under Bruce Burnett's direction.
Streaks
• Heavyweight Ed Prendergast owns Navy's longest winning streak with 24-consecutive victories dating back to Dec. 18 ... 10 of the 24 wins in the streak have come by fall ... Prendergast's last loss was against Missouri's Mark Ellis at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 1.
• Senior team captain Matt Stolpinski has put together a solid string of wins, as well ... he has won 16 in a row dating back to his 3-2 decision over Oklahoma's Jeff James at the Lone Star Duals on Jan. 5 ... his last loss was in the third-place match at the Southern Scuffle in which Cornell's Steve Anceravage defeated Stolpinski, 5-3 ... ironically, Stolpinski beat Anceravage in the title match at the 2008 EIWA Championship two weeks ago.
• Joe Baker is riding an eight-match winning streak that featured a 3-0 mark at the EIWA Championship where he won his first EIWA crown.
• Both Spencer Manley and Bryce Saddoris had their winning streaks interrupted at the EIWA Championship, however both came back to place third ... Manley has won nine of his last 10, while Saddoris has claimed wins in 10 of his last 11, including four in a row.
Quick Hits
• Prendergast's 14 pins this year are tied as the sixth most in program history ... it's the second consecutive year he has recorded double-digit falls.
• His 37 career falls are the most since record-setter John Reich turned in 63 pins between 1979 and `83.
• Joe Baker (133), Bryce Saddoris (149) and Matt Stolpinski (174) are among the top five in their respective weight classes for wins in a season ... with 35 wins, Saddoris broke the record set by John Cox in 2005-06 by winning his third-place match over Anthony Constantino of Columbia at the EIWA Championship ... Baker stands second with 25 wins, four short of Sam Gray's mark set in 2004-05 ... meanwhile Stolpinski holds four of the top five wins marks at 174 pounds ... he is six wins shy of the school-record tying 44 he set a year ago.
• Senior heavyweight Ed Prendergast is just outside of the top five with 34 wins ... the record is 43 set by Tanner Garrett in 2005-06, however, he is one win away from tying the fourth-place mark of 35 set by Steve Kovach (2001-02) and Tanner Garrett (2004-05).
• Bryce Saddoris' pin over Army's Casey Thome in the Star Match on Feb. 22 gave him his 30th win of the season ... he is only the third rookie to reach the 30-win milestone in program history ... he heads into the NCAA Championship second on Navy's all-time freshman wins list with 35, needing two to tie Tyrone Neal's 37 from the 1998-99 campaign.
• After posting a 4-0 mark at the EIWA Championship, Matt Stolpinski set the record for most wins in any two consecutive seasons with 82 ... the previous record of 78 was set by Mark Conley (2001-02) and Tanner Garrett (2005-06).
Rewriting the Record Books
• Navy senior Matt Stolpinski's career has been nothing short of sensational.
• He is a three-time NCAA qualifier and is the reigning two-time EIWA Champion at 174 pounds.
• Stolpinski set the school record for wins on Jan. 26 when NC State forfeited its match against the All-American, giving him his 128th victory and making him the school's all-time winningest wrestler.
• Though he dropped his third-place match against Cornell's Steve Anceravage on Dec. 30 at the Southern Scuffle, Stolpinski set another record - matches wrestled ... shattering the record, he has wrestled 17 more matches than previous record holder Mark Conley who battled 161 foes over the span of four seasons (1998-02).
• He is also Navy's single-season wins record holder, sharing that distinction with Conley (2001-02) ... Stolpinski won 44 matches last season en route to his fourth-place finish at the National Championship.
• He is one of only four men in program history to reach 30 wins in three of his four seasons, joining John Reich (`83), Greg Gingeleskie (`99) and Mark Conley (`02).
30 Wins and Counting
• With his 17-0 tech fall over Coast Guard's Kevin Robinson in the opening round of the All-Academy Championship, senior Matt Stolpinski (174 pounds) claimed his 30th win of the season.
• Stolpinski has reached the 30-win plateau in three of his four seasons, posting 25 wins during his freshman year.
• Stolpinski owns four of the top five win totals in school history at the 174-pound weight class ... last year he tied the school record and set the weight record with 44 wins.
• Senior heavyweight Ed Prendergast claimed his 30th win of the season on Feb. 15 by pinning Karim Mahmoud of Rutgers at 6:23 ... Prendergast, who claimed his 100th collegiate victory in the semifinals of the EIWA Championship against Army's Nathan Thobaben, turned in a personal-best 37 victories a year ago en route to qualifying for the NCAA Championship.
• Meanwhile, rookie 149-pounder Bryce Saddoris earned his place in the 30-win club by pinning Army's Casey Thome in the annual Star Match on Feb. 22 ... he is only the third rookie to reach the 30-win milestone in program history ... John Reich was the first to achieve the feat in 1979-80 and Tyrone Neal set the plebe wins record with 37 in 1998-99.
