<p>Junior Ed Prendergast and senior Antonio Miranda are among the nation’s top 20 for the first time in their collegiate careers. </p>
<p>Nov. 29, 2006</p>
<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Five Navy wrestlers are among this week’s edition of Amateur Wrestling News and/or the InterMat/NWCA top-20 individual rankings, including junior 285-pounder Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) who is making his first-career appearance in the top 20. </p>
<p>Prendergast, who is coming off a sophomore 20-9 campaign, is off to an 8-2 start which includes a 5-2 victory over Bloomsburg’s Mike Spaid in the championship bout of the Navy Classic nearly two weeks ago. Prendergast’s two losses are against then No. 5-ranked Dustin Fox of Northwestern (currently ranked No. 3) in back-to-back weeks. Fox earned the win over Prendergast in the championship match at the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 4 by a 6-8 decision and the following week handed his Navy foe a 6-3 setback at the Northwestern Duals. Heading into Friday night’s dual against Rutgers, Prendergast has won four in a row and is ranked No. 7 by AWN and 20th by InterMat/NWCA. </p>
<p>Also making his first-collegiate appearance in the top-20 rankings is senior Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.), who raised some eyebrows with his decision to move down a weight class to 184 this season. Ranked 19th by InterMat/NWCA, Miranda has hushed those in doubt, producing a 9-3 record a month into the season. Miranda claimed his second-consecutive Navy Classic crown, defeating Bloomsburg’s Nate Shirk, 9-4, in the title bout on Nov. 18. </p>
<p>Junior Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) is ranked No. 15 by AWN and 20th by InterMat/NWCA at 174 pounds and stands 12-1 this winter. Stolpinski, who is 3-0 in dual competition, lost his only bout of the year in the finals match at the Eastern Michigan Open where then 10th-ranked Steve Luke (now ranked No. 8) earned a 13-7 decision. A 2005-06 NCAA Tournament qualifier, Stolpinski has won four matches by major decision, three by technical fall and one by pin. He won his second-consecutive Navy Classic title on Nov. 18 by defeating Binghamton’s Josh Patterson in the championship match, 11-6. He currently owns an eight-match winning streak. </p>
<p>Boasting a 9-2 record is senior John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) who is ranked seventh at 149 pounds by AWN, as well as InterMat/NWCA. Cox is coming off his third-straight Navy Classic title, defeating Matt Moley from Bloomsburg in the finals bout, 5-4. Cox’s first loss of the year came in the championship match at the Eastern Michigan Open where Michigan’s sixth-ranked Josh Churella turned in a 9-2 win and Cox was forced to settle for second. Cox dropped his second match of the year the following week in a 7-4 decision to fifth-ranked Tyler Turner of Wisconsin at the Northwestern Duals. Heading into the weekend, Cox is on a five-match winning streak and is looking to move into sole possession of 10th on the Navy career wins list as he currently is tied with Scott Kelly (1984-88) with 92 wins. </p>
<p>Despite missing the last three weeks of competition nursing a leg injury, sophomore Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) remains in the top 20 of both polls. He drew the No. 12 spot by AWN, while he is 13th according to InterMat/NWCA. Baker turned in a 3-1 record at the Eastern Michigan Open where he placed second. His lone loss of the year is against Nick Simmons of Michigan State who was ranked third at 125 pounds in the preseason rankings, but is now the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds in both polls. </p>
<p>The Midshipmen return to the mat on Friday when they play host to Rutgers in the Halsey Field House Multi-Purpose Gym. Action is set to begin at 7:00 pm.</p>