Feb. 26, 2008

EIWA Rankings - Feb. 26

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Seven Midshipmen are among the fourth installment of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) rankings released Tuesday morning, including 2007 EIWA heavyweight title winner Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) who is the favorite at 285 pounds. The Midshipmen, who are ranked third in the EIWA with a 5-1 record behind Cornell (6-0) and Penn (6-1), will head to Franklin & Marshall a week from Saturday to compete in the two-day EIWA Championship (March 8-9).

Riding a 20-match winning streak, Prendergast is Navy's lone wrestler who is currently ranked No. 1 in his respective weight class. Prendergast caught fire in the opening round of the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 18 and has not looked back since, winning three tournament titles to go along with his 20 consecutive wins. The 2007 NCAA qualifier is coming off a 6-3 victory over Army's Michael Sprigg last Friday night where he reached reached the 30-win mark for the second straight year.

Team captain Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) is one of only two Navy wrestlers who have been ranked in all four of the EIWA's rankings reports this season. The 174-pounder is ranked second in the league behind Cornell's Steve Anceravage whom Stolpinski lost to in the third-place match of the Southern Scuffle in late December. Since that loss, the 2007 All-American has put together 12 straight wins, including his record-setting four All-Academy Championship. Also sandwiched in among the wins was a Jan. 26 encounter against NC State in which he became the program's all-time wins leader. With 133 wins and counting, Stolpinski has topped 30 wins in each of the last three seasons and is striving to become the first to win 40 twice in his career.

In addition to Stolpinski, junior 133-pounder Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) has also appeared in all four rankings and stands fourth heading into the conference championship. After finishing fifth at last year's EIWA Championship, Baker will look to make his second NCAA Tournament appearance, but has tough competition ahead of him. Baker has dropped matches this season to No. 2 Seth Ciasulli of Lehigh and in November, No. 3 David Marble dropped Baker in the championship bout of the Navy Classic. Baker, though, has claimed wins in seven of his last eight matches, including each of the last five. He'll head into the tournament with a 22-10 record.

Baker is one of four Navy wrestlers ranked fourth in their respective weight classes. Joining him is rookie Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.), who has enjoyed a successful campaign as Navy's 149-pounder. Not only did his pin against Army's Casey Thome last Friday night give the Mids' the lead for good en route to their eighth straight win over the Black Knights, it also gave him his 30th win of the season. He is the first Navy freshman to reach 30 wins since Tyrone Neal in 1998-99 and only the third overall to achieve the feat.

Senior Spencer Manley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) has spent five of the last six matches wrestling at 157 pounds. Ranked fourth in the EIWA, Manley will represent Navy in the conference championship at that weight. He owns a 21-10 record overall and a 4-1 mark in matches at 157 pounds. He claimed his 20th win of the season behind a 12-5 rout over Rutgers' Chris Norrell on Feb. 15, reaching the 20-win plateau for the first time in his career.

Navy's final fourth-ranked wrestler in the EIWA rankings is junior 184-pounder Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.), who entered the season having won just three matches and wrestled seven in his first two years. Caldwell has worked hard in the wrestling room and is at his prime form having won eight of his last 10 matches, including five duals. Like Manley, he, too, reached the 20-win plateau in the Rutgers dual where he defeated Keith Dobish, 3-1. In addition to a 5-2 record in dual action, he owns a 20-11 overall mark.

Boasting a 4-0 dual meet mark, senior Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.) is the final Navy wrestler ranked by the EIWA, coming in at No. 5 at 165 pounds. Jacobs owns a 12-8 record and has won four in a row, including a 2-1 win over Rutgers' Matt Pletcher who is ranked sixth in the league.