Navy Sports

[GreatAmerican]

<p>For: Immediate Release
Sent: January 4, 2008
Contact: Scott Strasemeier (410) 293-8775</p>

<p>Singleton The Sixth Navy Football Player To Serve As Brigade Commander</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, MD-Zerbin Singleton (Sr./Decatur, Ga.) is the sixth Navy football player in school history and the first since 1983 to be selected Brigade Commander. Singleton will be responsible for guiding and directing the daily activities of the Brigade of Midshipmen and act as the liaison between the Brigade and the senior leadership at the Academy during the spring semester. </p>

<p>Singleton was a two-year starter on the football team at slot back and carries a 3.14 grade point average in Aerospace Engineering. He service selected Marine Corps pilot and one day hopes to be an astronaut.</p>

<p>Navy Football Players That Have Served As Brigade Commanders</p>

<p>Name Class
Peter Van Nort 1959
Joe Ince 1964
Dan Pike 1970
Dan Driscoll 1974
Frazier Frantz 1983
Zerbin Singleton 2007</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Air Force LBs, Army DBs lead All-Academy Team</p>

<p>Scout.com continues its 1st annual All-Service Academy Football Team with selections for Defense, Specialists, MVPs, and Break-Out Players. Overall, Navy had 16 selections (7 First Team, 9 Honorable Mentions), Air Force had 16 selections (11 FT, 5 HM), and Army had 12 selections (7 FT, 5 HM).</p>

<p>First Team Defense </p>

<p>DL: Michael Walsh Navy</p>

<p>Comments: Walsh turned into the Mids¹ most consistent defensive lineman and seemed to get better as the season went on. He led the team in tackles for a loss with 10.5 and also registered a respectable 57 tackles. Chances are he will get to the quarterback a bit more next year.</p>

<p>DL: Ted Bentler Army</p>

<p>Comments: There was a lot of hype around Bentler this season and for the most part he did not disappoint. With a year of experience under his belt, expect him to improve upon his 42 tackle performance. </p>

<p>DL: Ryan Kemp Air Force</p>

<p>Comments: Kemp was Air Force¹s best lineman, accounting for 54 tackles including 8.5 for a loss. He was also third for the Falcons in sacks with four. Air Force returns all three starters for 2008 on the defensive line so this position should be a significant strength for them.</p>

<p>LB: Drew Fowler Air Force</p>

<p>Comments: Fowler isn¹t getting as many post-season honors this year, but it wasn¹t because he wasn¹t once again a force inside for Air Force. He led the team in tackles with 119 and even had 3 interceptions. Fowler was a target all year for offensive coordinators which allowed his teammates to make several plays .</p>

<p>LB: Frank Scappaticci Army</p>

<p>Comments: In his first year as a starter, Scappaticci excelled, registering 89 tackles including 6 for a loss. The junior will lead a young unit next year as he is one of only 4 returning starters.</p>

<p>LB: Irv Spencer Navy</p>

<p>Comments: When Jeff Deliz and Clint Sovie were lost to injury in the Rutgers game, Spencer was thrust into the leadership role for the Navy defense. He responded with several bruising hits, timely pass breakups, and 95 tackles to lead the team. </p>

<p>LB: John Rabold Air Force</p>

<p>Comments: Rabold had a team-leading 17.5 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks to go with his 74 tackles overall. His efforts help Air Force keep opponents to only 3.5 yards per rush. He, Fowler and Aaron Shanor will be sorely missed as they formed one of the best linebacking units ever at Air Force.</p>

<p>DB: Carson Bird Air Force</p>

<p>Comments: Bird¹s six interceptions were the most in the MWC and the fourth-most in the nation. He also accounted for 48 tackles and 3 fumble recoveries. His interception against TCU with under a minute to play helped send the game to overtime.</p>

<p>DB: Chris Thomas Air Force</p>

<p>Comments: As the youngest member of the Falcons¹ secondary, Thomas quietly put together an impressive season. He was second on the team with 110 tackles, nine of which were for a loss. His leadership will be called upon next year as Air Force loses four of its top five tacklers on defense.</p>

<p>DB: Caleb Campbell Army</p>

<p>Comments: A lot was expected of Campbell and while some would consider his season campaign a bit of a disappointment, he will definitely be remembered as one of the finest safeties to ever play at West Point . His 97 tackles were second on the team to Jordan Murray . </p>

<p>DB: Jordan Murray Army</p>

<p>Comments: Murray was Army¹s most consistent defender, making 103 tackles including 67 of the solo variety. He saved his best effort for the last game of the season, as he led Army with 16 tackles against Navy. Replacing both Murray and Campbell will be extremely difficult for the Black Knights.</p>

<p>Honorable Mention </p>

<p>DT: Nate Frazier Navy</p>

<p>DB: Ketric Buffin Navy</p>

<p>LB: Matt Wimsatt Navy</p>

<p>DB: Wyatt Middleton Navy</p>

<p>LB: Aaron Shanor Air Force</p>

<p>DB: Garrett Rybak Air Force</p>

<p>DB: Bobby Giannini Air Force</p>

<p>DB: Kevin Opoku Army</p>

<p>LB: John Plumstead Army</p>

<p>LB: Brian Chmura Army</p>

<p>First Team Specialists</p>

<p>K: Ryan Harrison Air Force</p>

<p>P: Owen Tolson Army</p>

<p>PR: Jeremy Trimble Army</p>

<p>KR: Reggie Campbell Navy</p>

<p>Offense Most Valuable Player</p>

<p>Chad Hall Air Force</p>

<p>Defense Most Valuable Player</p>

<p>Drew Fowler Air Force</p>

<p>Break-Out Players </p>

<p>Wyatt Middleton Navy</p>

<p>John Plumstead Army</p>

<p>Chris Thomas Air Force</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Navy takes part in Saturday’s Lone Star Duals</p>

<p>For Immediate Release
Friday, Jan. 4, 2008
Wrestling Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773</p>

<p>Navy to Face Pair of Nationally-Ranked Ranked Foes at Lone Star Duals</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The No. 21-ranked Navy wrestling team will open up the new year with a trip to Texas where the Midshipmen will face nationally-ranked Wisconsin (No. 14) and Oklahoma (No. 19), along with EIWA foe Columbia in the 11th-annual Lone Star Duals held at the South Grand Prairie Warrior Coliseum in South Grand Prairie, Texas. Twenty-five collegiate programs from around the country, including four teams ranked in the top 20, will be in action on Saturday with 10 mats used simultaneously (along with high school matches) beginning at 8:00 am.</p>

<p>Navy, who has yet to wrestle a dual match this season, opens Saturday’s competition with a 10:00 am (11:00 Eastern) battle against Oklahoma, who has amassed a 5-1 dual meet mark. The Sooners, who have been off the mat for a month, were last in action on Dec. 7 when they turned in a strong 27-6 performance against Central Oklahoma, the defending Div. II National Champion. Though OU has not competed as a team over the last several weeks, several wrestlers used the holiday break to compete on an individual basis around the country. Sophomores Eric Lapotsky and Shane Vernon both placed first at the Wilkes-Barre Open in Wilkes, Penn., while freshman Zack Bailey advanced to the championship match in Evanston, Ill. at the Midlands Championship. Six Sooners head into the tournament ranked among the nation’s top 20 in their respective weight classes, including three in the top 10. Joel Flaggert, who owns an 11-0 record at 197 pounds, is OU’s highest ranked wrestler at No. 5, whil!
e !
184-pounder Josh Weitzel (12-0) is seventh and 149-pounder Will Rowe (13-1) is eighth.</p>

<p>Upon completion of the OU match, Navy will need to recover quickly as it will take on Columbia at 12-noon (1:00 Eastern). Like Navy, Columbia has spent the opening half of the season competing in tournaments, including the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational where it placed 27th out of 50, the Wilkes Open and the Midlands Open (36th out of 50). Prior to their match against the Midshipmen, the Lion will battle Cal State-Fullerton, who just fell out of the NWCA top-25 poll. Columbia’s lone wrestler ranked in the top 25 is senior Brandon Kinney, who has turned in a 12-3 record and is ranked 17th. Junior 141-pounder Sal Tirico battled Navy sophomore Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last month and earned an 8-3 decision.</p>

<p>Navy’s final match of the day (6:00 pm/7:00 Eastern) is against the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers who have also been away from the mats for nearly a month. The Badgers own a 4-1-1 record, dropping their lone match to Big Ten foe 12th-ranked Ohio State on Dec. 10, 23-13. That was the last time Wisconsin was on the mat. However, the Badgers are stocked with talent, as six wrestlers are ranked among the top 20. Senior Craig Henning has won 11 of his 12 matches and is ranked second at 157 pounds. Meanwhile, redshirt junior Dallas Herbst has jumped out to a 14-1 start to the season and is seventh at 197 pounds.</p>

<p>Two interesting matches between the Badgers and Mids will be at 133 pounds and the heavyweight division. Junior Zach Tanelli got the best of Navy junior Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) earlier this season at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational where Tanelli earned a 5-2 decision over Baker in the seventh-place match. Meanwhile, look for the Badgers’ Kyle Massey, ranked 15th, to push either No. 7 Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) or Scott Steele (Baltimore, Md.) at heavyweight.</p>

<p>Oklahoma has defeated Navy in all 10 of its previous meetings, while the Mids have never lost to Columbia in their 22 matches. Wisconsin has won four of its five matches against the Midshipmen, including a 29-7 victory over Navy at the Northwestern Duals a year ago.</p>

<p>After a slow start to the season, Prendergast has stepped up his production for the Mids, winning nine consecutive matches and two tournament crowns (Reno Tournament of Champions, Southern Scuffle). Boasting a 19-4 record, Prendergast has battled the entire season with Steele, who defeated him at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Navy Classic to win heavyweight titles of his own. Steele has produced a 19-3 record this season.</p>

<p>Another name to look out for this weekend is that of freshman Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.), who has placed in four of the five tournaments in which he has wrestled and finished among the top three in three of the four a 149 pounds. Saddoris owns the most wins among EIWA competitors this season with 23 and was the first Navy wrestler to 20 wins.</p>

<p>Senior captain Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) dropped to ninth in the rankings this week, but has been stout in competition at 174 pounds this year with a 22-6 record. He has placed in all five tournaments, winning the Navy Classic and finishing as the runner-up at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Reno Tournament of Champions.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, Baker, a two-time NCAA Tournament qualifier continues to be a solid wrestler at 133 pounds. He has placed in all four tournaments in which he has seen action, including second-place finishes at the Navy Classic and the Reno Tournament of Champions. He is coming off a fourth-place performance at the Southern Scuffle last weekend. He owns a 14-7 record heading into the Lone Star Duals.</p>

<p>Results from the Lone Star Duals will be posted on the official site at [Lone</a> Star Duals - Our 11th Edition!](<a href=“http://www.lonestarduals.com%5DLone”>http://www.lonestarduals.com). Navigate to the schedule matrix for Saturday to locate the results. Navy’s results from the entire tournament will be reported at the conclusion of the day.</p>

<p>Weight Classes Featuring Ranked Wrestlers
Wt. Rank Wrestler, School (Record)
125 No. 17 Brandon Kinney, Columbia (12-3)
133 No. 18 Zach Tenelli, Wisconsin (13-4)
141 No. 8 Kyle Ruschell, Wisconsin (12-3)
No. 11 Zack Bailey, Oklahoma (21-3)
149 No. 8 Will Rowe, Oklahoma (13-1)
157 No. 2 Craig Henning, Wisconsin (1-1)
165 No .12 Max Dean, Oklahoma (12-1)
174 No. 9 Matt Stolpinski, Navy (22-6)
184 No. 7 Josh Weitzel, Oklahoma (12-0)
No. 11 Trevor Brandvold, Wisconsin (13-4)
197 No. 5 Joel Flaggert, Oklahoma (11-0)
No. 7 Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin (14-1)
HWT No. 7 Ed Prendergast, Navy (19-4)
No. 14 Nathan Fernandez, Oklahoma (10-2)
No. 15 Kyle Massey, Wisconsin (12-5)</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Four new hirings complete Navy football coaching staff</p>

<p>By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer</p>

<p>The Capital has learned through multiple sources that Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo has finalized the Navy coaching staff, making a total of four new hires while shuffling some assignments. In addition to Joe DuPaix, who was officially hired yesterday as slot backs coach, Niumatalolo has hired Steve Johns to coach inside linebackers, Ashley Ingram to coach offensive line and Tony Grantham to coach outside linebackers.</p>

<p>Ingram comes to Navy from Bucknell, where he served as offensive coordinator in addition to coaching the offensive line. He has significant experience with spread option-style offense, having played in such a system at North Alabama and coached in similar attacks at Rhode Island and Bucknell.</p>

<p>Johns worked with Niumatalolo as an assistant at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas under head coach John Robinson. Johns left UNLV after Robinson retired and has spent the past couple years in the junior college ranks, spending last season as defensive coordinator of perennially powerful Grossmont College. He played at Occidental College in California.</p>

<p>Grantham, a Radford graduate who began his career as a graduate assistant at LSU under Nick Saban, returns to Navy after spending last season at Campbell University. He served four seasons as an assistant at Navy, serving in a military-related position while working with the defensive line and outside linebackers.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, Navy has switched six-year assistant Danny O’Rourke from defense to offense and he will now coach the wide receivers. Chris Culton, who just completed his fifth season with the program, will now assist Ingram with the offensive line.</p>

<p>Ivin Jasper, who was promoted to offensive coordinator, will continue to tutor the quarterbacks and will also coach the fullbacks.</p>

<p>Navy lost a total of four offensive assistants during the coaching transition. Wide receivers coach Brian Bohannon, slot backs coach Jeff Monken and offensive line coach Todd Spencer all followed former head coach Paul Johnson to Georgia Tech while Niumatalolo was hired as head coach.</p>

<p>For the most part, the defensive staff remains intact with coordinator Buddy Green continuing to work with the secondary, Dale Pehrson remaining as defensive line coach, Keith Jones staying onboard as outside linebackers coach and Joe Speed coming back for a seventh season working with the secondary.</p>

<p>DuPaix comes to Navy from Cal Poly, where he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.</p>

<p>Under the direction of DuPaix, Cal Poly led the Football Championship Subdivision in total offense in 2007.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Crusaders are team to beat in Patriot League</p>

<p>By Stephen Miller | Of The Morning Call
January 4, 2008</p>

<p>With two months of the 2007-08 basketball season in the standings, teams have made their early impressions. In the Patriot League, a one-bid NCAA Tournament league throughout its history, what has happened to date won’t matter as much as what happens between now and the end of the league tournament in March.</p>

<p>Still, the nonleague portion of play has offered some indicators of what might come in the next two months. Here are a few developments that stand out.</p>

<p>Holy Cross has pegged itself as an overwhelming favorite to win the PL. The Crusaders have the league’s best record (8-3) despite playing the second-toughest nonleague schedule (ranked 187th of 341 Division I teams, according to kenpom.com’s re-creation of the Ratings Percentage Index). Two of Holy Cross’ wins have come against top-60 RPI teams (Saint Joseph’s and Ohio), and it also has close losses to Dayton (No. 7 in RPI) and Siena (No.
62 in RPI).</p>

<p>That the Crusaders will enter PL play as league favorites will surprise no one. They were picked to win the league in a preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors.</p>

<p>The question is whether anyone will challenge Holy Cross. Bucknell (5-8) has battled the Crusaders atop the league for the past few seasons, but, right now, it appears a step behind. The Bison still figure to be tough, though, especially with senior forward Darren Mastropaolo returning Wednesday from a torn ACL that had sidelined him all season.</p>

<p>Lafayette doesn’t look like the league’s worst team. The Leopards (8-5) were picked to finish last in the eight-team PL during the preseason. They have played like a group eager to avoid that distinction.</p>

<p>Lafayette has lost two straight on its extended road trip, but it has showed more confidence and poise this year than during last year’s 9-21 struggle. Just Wednesday, it went toe-to-toe with No. 13 Pittsburgh for 28 minutes before losing 96-75.</p>

<p>Can the Leopards carry their confident play into league action, where their opponents will have more familiarity with their offense? They can if they continue to score and defend from the 3-point arc. Andrew Brown (17.7 ppg), Bilal Abdullah (13 ppg), Matt Betley (10.2 ppg) and Paul Cummins (8.9 ppg) are all shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range, helping Lafayette outscore its opponents by 153 points from the arc so far this season.</p>

<p>The Leopards haven’t cracked the top half of the PL since 2003-04. They have a chance to change that this season.</p>

<p>Parity could be coming. Last year was supposed to be the one where Holy Cross and Bucknell came back to the PL pack. It didn’t happen, as the Crusaders and Bison both went 13-1 in league play, with their losses coming against one another.</p>

<p>Could the league see a tightening in the standings this year? Perhaps, but it’s tough to judge off of nonleague play.</p>

<p>The guess here is the league winner will have 3-4 league losses, rather than the 0-1 loss champions of recent vintage. How teams play on the road will determine how close the league standings are.</p>

<p><a href="mailto:stephen.miller@mcall.com">stephen.miller@mcall.com</a></p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Date and Tip Time Jan. 5, 2008 at 7:00 pm (ET)
Location Annapolis, Md. | Alumni Hall<br>
Tickets 1-800-US4-NAVY
Television None
Video Streaming Navy All-Access / [NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics](<a href=“http://www.navysports.com%5DNavySports.com”>http://www.navysports.com)
Radio WNAV (Annapolis; 1430 AM)
WFED (Washington; 1050 AM)<br>
Webcast WNAV (1430 AM) | WFED (1050 AM)
Gametracker [NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics](<a href=“http://www.NavySports.com%5DNavySports.com”>http://www.NavySports.com)</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy will wrap up its 2007-08 non-conference portion of the schedule with a Saturday night tilt against Longwood at Alumni Hall. The Mids enter the contest on a three-game winning streak and a 6-8 overall record, while the Lancers are 4-13 overall. The game will be the back end of a doubleheader, as the Navy women host Ohio at 5:00 pm. The game will be aired by WFED (1050 AM), and WNAV (1430 AM) will stream the game online until the end of the Washington Redskins play-off game, when at that time, it will pick up the rest of the Navy game. It will also be video-streamed online as part of the Navy All-Access package at [NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics](<a href=“http://www.navysports.com%5DNavySports.com”>http://www.navysports.com).</p>

<p>NAVY QUICK NOTES
• Navy has won three straight games for the first time since Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2006. A win on Saturday over Longwood would give Navy four straight wins for the first time since Feb. 21 - March 4, 2001.
• With its 84-point effort on Wednesday night against NJIT, Navy has scored 84 or more points in three straight games for the first time since Jan. 31 - Feb. 8, 1998.
• Navy’s 29-point win over NJIT on Wednesday was the largest against a Division I opponent since Dec. 30, 2001, when the Mids blasted Mount St. Mary’s, 95-54. The win makes it the largest for a Lange-coached team against a D-I foe at Navy.
• Navy has now shot over 49.0 percent in five of the last six games, and has averaged at least 1.00 point per possession in the same number of games.
• In the last four games, Navy is shooting 51.1 percent from the field, including 45.8 percent (49-of-107) from long distance, while averaging 82.5 ppg.
• In the same span, the Navy defense is holding foes to shoot just 41.1 percent from the field and 29.2 percent (21-of-72) from long distance, while averaging 71.2 ppg.
• Romeo Garcia scored a career-high 10 points against NJIT, making him the 10th Navy player to reach double figures in a game this year. The 10 players is tied for the second most in the country with four other schools. Wofford has had 11 players score at least 10 points.
• Navy is 4-2 in the last six games.
• The trio of Greg Sprink (23.3), Chris Harris (16.5) and Kaleo Kina (19.3) are averaging 59.0 ppg, 13.5 rpg and 11.5 apg in the last four games. They are shooting 82-of-163 (.503) from the field, including 39-of-84 (.464) from three-point range.
• The above-mentioned trio is accounting for 71.5 percent of Navy’s scoring during that span.
• Navy has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.94 during the last four games, and has recorded assists on 56.3 percent of all baskets during that span.
• Navy leads the Patriot League in defensive points per possession (0.93).
• The Mids rank 10th in the country in defensive three-point percentage (.285).
• Navy is 18th in the country in turnovers forced per game (19.1).</p>

<p>PREVIEWING LONGWOOD
Longwood enters the contest with a 4-13 mark after falling to Boston College, 81-52, on Wednesday night. The Lancers flew to Baltimore on Thursday morning and practiced in Annapolis on Thursday and Friday, before battling the Mids on Saturday night. The Lancers have won two of their last five games, a stretch that followed a nine-game losing streak. One of the joys of being an independent, Longwood has already played Indiana, Kent State, James Madison, Virginia, VCU, Morgan State, George Washington and Boston College. The Lancers are in their first year of Division I play after going through the mandatory four-year reclassification process.</p>

<p>Longwood is paced by junior forward Kirk Williams, who leads the team in scoring (16.4 ppg) and rebounds (5.6 rpg), while shooting 44.0 percent from the field. Part-time starter Ryan Bogan adds 11.2 ppg while shooting 38.3 percent from three-point range. Brandon Giles leads the team with 56 assists, and three more players have at least 30 assists on the season.</p>

<p>As a team, Longwood is averaging 64.6 ppg, but is giving up 78.9 points per contest. Opponents are connecting on 51.0 percent of all of their shots and 42.8 percent of their three-point attempts. Opponents are outrebounding the Lancers by 1.8 boards per game and Longwood averages 1.0 more turnovers per game than its foes.</p>

<p>SERIES WITH LONGWOOD
In an interesting piece of scheduling, Navy and Longwood will be playing for the second time this year. The Mids lead the all-time series, 4-0, following their 88-72 victory in the season opener on Nov. 9.
• Three of the wins have come during the Billy Lange era, including a 61-59 overtime decision a year ago. The Mids also won 71-65 in the 2005-06 campaign.</p>

<p>THE LAST MEETING (NOV. 9, 2007)
Navy used a big first-half run and strong outside shooting to win its second straight season opener, 88-72, on Nov. 9, 2007. Greg Sprink scored 28 points with eight rebounds and five assists and three others joined him in double figures.
• Navy shot 50.8 percent from the field, including 13-of-29 (.448) from three-point range.
• Navy surged to a 49-33 halftime advantage, thanks in large part to a 36-14 run over 12 minutes.</p>

<p>LAST YEAR’S MEETING (DEC. 1, 2007)
Navy rallied from a 43-36 deficit in the final 3:30 of the contest to escape Farmville with a 61-59 overtime decision. The Mids shot just 16-of-53 in regulation, but went 4-of-4 in the extra session to earn the victory.
• Corey Johnson led the Navy charge, scoring 11 of his 12 points in the second half and overtime. Sprink led the Mids with 16 points and nine rebounds.
• Navy connected on just 20-of-57 shots (.351), but held Longwood to just 22-of-60 (.367), and forced 17 Longwood turnovers. The Lancers shot just 3-of-17 (.176) from three-point range.</p>

<p>CENTURY MARK FOR LANGE
Wednesday’s win over NJIT was a landmark game for Navy head coach Billy Lange. The contest was his 100th coached game at Navy. Showing a level of stability, he becomes the eighth straight coach, dating back to John Wilson (1927-47), to coach 100 games at Navy.
• Lange owns a 40-60 record at Navy.</p>

<p>GUARD PLAY LEADS THE WAY
Navy’s guard play of Greg Sprink, Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris has been on fire over the last four games, averaging a combined 59.0 ppg during that stretch. • The trio continued their amazing run with 60 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists against NJIT. They went a combined 21-of-36 from the field and 10-of-17 from three-point range. They nearly became the first trio since the amazing threesome of Vernon Butler, David Robinson and Kylor Whitaker to each score 20 points in a game. Kina finished with 23, Sprink with 19 and Harris with 18.
• They had a strong performance against St. Francis, combining for 63 points, 18 rebounds and 17 assists, while shooting 21-of-46 from the field. They also combined to play 115 of a possible 120 minutes.
• Against UMES, the threesome scored 54 points on 18-of-36 (.500) shooting. They went a combined 9-of-18 (.500) from three-point range.
• The trio scored 59 points on 22-of-45 (.489) shooting, including 12-of-26 (.462) from three-point range, against San Diego State.
• For the entire season, the trio is averaging 43.1 ppg, 11.7 rpg and 8.9 apg, while connecting on 80 of Navy’s 125 three-pointers. They have also accounted for 125 of Navy’s 195 assists on the season.
• Lastly, one of the three have led the team in scoring in every game but one (UTSA - Clif Colbert) this year.</p>

<p>GETTING A BIT DEFENSIVE, AREN’T WE?
After slumping offensively early in the year, the Navy offense has found its stride. It has helped a Navy defense that was already showing strong improvement get even better. • In the last six games, Navy has allowed foes to shoot just 38.8 percent from the field, moving the Mids from eighth to fifth on the Patriot League’s defensive field goal percentage chart. Navy has held foes to just 67.7 ppg during that span and just 0.92 points per possession. • Navy is outscoring its foes by 9.1 ppg during the last six contests.</p>

<p>THE LEAD ROLE
Navy has led in every game but three this year and haven’t trailed in any of the last three games. The Mids have led for a 115:28 of a possible 120:00 during the last three games.</p>

<p>• Navy has led from start to finish in its last four wins, leading for 39:44 of 40 minutes against Towson.</p>

<p>WE’RE GOING STREAKING
• Navy has won 18 straight games when leading with five minutes to play.
• Navy has won eight straight games when scoring at least 80 points. The Mids are 16-3 under Lange when reaching 80 points.
• Kaleo Kina has scored at least 20 points in three straight games. He and Greg Sprink have reached double figures in six and five straight games, respectively.</p>

<p>FRESHMEN STARTING TO PICK UP PLAY
Freshmen Romeo Garcia, Mark Veazey and Greg Brown are all starting to accumulate minutes for Lange and the results have been very satisfying. • Mark Veazey, who earned the Patriot League’s first Rookie of the Week honor back on Nov. 12, ranks seventh on the team in scoring and third in rebounding, despite ranking seventh in minutes. He leads the team with 16 blocked shots.
• Romeo Garcia has started the last 10 games, and does a little bit of everything. Known for his tenacity, Garcia shut down NJIT big man Nesho Milosevic in the second half after he torched the Mids for 19 points in the first half. Despite giving up six inches, Garcia held him to six points on 2-of-3 shooting. His offensive game is slowly coming around and he ranks second on the team with seven drawn charges.
• Working his way into the lineup, Greg Brown is showing glimpses of his potential. A very athletic, long player, Brown has scored 17 points with eight rebounds and three steals in his last 33 minutes, a span of five games. He has seen his minutes go up in his last three games, and gives the Mids an athletic slasher that can also shoot the ball well. If he cuts down on his turnovers, Brown could develop into an outstanding bench option this year.</p>

<p>MOVING ON UP
Greg Sprink moved into the career scoring top 10 list in big fashion over the weekend. His 33 points catapulted him into 10th place on the Navy career scoring list, passing Eddie Reddick (1988-91) during the game.
• He then jumped three more spots with a 19-point effort against NJIT on Wednesday night giving him 1,398 points. He passed Hank Kuzma (1975-78), Dave Brooks (1980-83) and Rob Romaine (1981-84) in the win over NJIT.
• He now needs 98 points to tie Chris Williams (1998-2001) for sixth on the list with 1,496 points.
• Sprink also now ranks 23rd on the all-time Patriot League scoring chart, needing 45 points to tie Craig Kowadla (1992-96) of Lafayette for 22nd place.</p>

<p>SPRINK ON SELECT LIST
Navy’s Greg Sprink, Army’s Jarell Brown and Holy Cross’ Tim Clifford are the only players in the Patriot League ranked in the top 10 of both scoring and rebounding. Sprink is second in scoring and fifth in rebounding. Brown is first in scoring and ninth in rebounding. Clifford is fourth in scoring and seventh in rebounding.
• Sprink is the only player among the three among the top 15 in assists, ranking 13th on the list.</p>

<p>SPRINK APPROACHING EXCLUSIVE CLUB
Greg Sprink has been a consistent performer all four years at Navy and is about to join a rather exclusive club at Navy. Sprink needs just 20 rebounds to become the fourth player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists. Hank Kuzma (1975-78), Kevin Sinnett (1976-79) and Vernon Butler (1983-86) are the three to accomplish the feat.
• He recorded his 200th career assist in the second half against St. Francis College, making him the ninth player in school history with 1,000 points and 200 assists. He joins Vernon Butler, Kevin Sinnett, Michael Heary, Rob Romaine, Hank Kuzma, Kylor Whitaker, Erik Harris and Cliff Rees in the club.
• Throw in the fact he needs four steals for 100 in his career, and Sprink can become the second player (with Vernon Butler) with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals. Steals did not become an official stat until 1983, after Brooks and Sinnett’s careers had concluded.</p>

<p>KINA FLYING UNDER THE RADAR
Kaleo Kina may be quietly having one of the best seasons in the Patriot League. The 6-4 junior guard from Phoenix, Ariz., is averaging career highs in points (13.3), rebounds (4.5) and assists (3.4), while leading the Patriot League in steals (2.1).
• He ranks eighth in the league in scoring, 14th in rebounding, 15th in field goal percentage, fifth in assists, 10th in free throw percentage, first in steals, 15th in three-point percentage, 15th in three-pointers made per game, seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio and 10th in defensive rebounds per game.
• All told, he ranks in the top 15 of an astonishing 10 different Patriot League categories. The only two categories Kina is not ranked in is blocked shots and offensive rebounds per game.
• He recorded perhaps the best game of his career against St. Francis College last Saturday night, scoring 23 points with six rebounds, six assists and three steals. It marked his fifth career 20-point game.
• He has since recorded his sixth career 20-point game, coming with another 23-point effort against NJIT on Wednesday night. In games that Kina scores 20 points, the Mids are 4-2 overall, including 3-0 this year.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>ANNAPOLIS, MD (Friday, January 4, 2008) – Navy’s ice hockey team needed two periods to shake off the cobwebs from a five-week layoff, then gave the University of Delaware all it could handle in the third period before finally succumbing to the Blue Hens, 8-5, in an Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) game Friday night at the McMullen Hockey Arena.</p>

<p>With the loss, the Midshipmen fell to 6-14-0 overall and 1-12-0 in the ESCHL. Delaware, meanwhile, improved to 16-4-1 overall and 9-3-1 in the league. </p>

<p>The same two teams battle Saturday night at 5 p.m. at the Fred Rust Arena adjacent to the University of Delaware campus.</p>

<p>Although Navy drew first blood Friday night, getting a goal from Matt Swezey at the 7:30 mark of the first period, the Mids eventually fell behind 4-1 thanks to four consecutive, unanswered Delaware goals near the end of the first period and the start of the second stanza.</p>

<p>Navy cut the Blue Hen advantage to 4-2 on the strength of an Alex Wallis tally at 17:24 of the second period, but once again Delaware went on a scoring streak, picking up three consecutive goals to take a commanding 7-2 lead early in the third period.</p>

<p>The Mids then rallied to make a game of it, picking up goals from Jeff Martin, Matt Keller, and John Patrick Culliton during a nine-minute span in the third period to pull Navy within 7-5.</p>

<p>But Delaware rebounded with a Joe Baumgartner goal with just six minutes left in the game to close out the scoring and enable the Blue Hens to escape from the McMullen Arena with the 8-5 victory.</p>

<p>Navy netminder Eric Anderson was credited with 27 saves on 34 Delaware shots in the game¹s first 43:11 until he was replaced by fellow sophomore Jeremey Estevez. Estevez recorded eight saves on nine UD shots during his 16:07 between the pipes. </p>

<p>Annapolis native Jimmy Depfer made 21 saves on 24 shots in 44:24 minutes of action for the Blue Hens, while back-up Delaware goaltender Nicholas Matarese recorded 10 saves out of 12 shots during his 15:36 of action. </p>

<p>SCORING SUMMARY </p>

<p>Delaware 2 3 3 - 8</p>

<p>NAVY 1 1 3 - 5</p>

<p>First Period </p>

<p>N * Swezey (Wallis, Daniel) 7:30</p>

<p>D * Rotundo (Bailey, Sexton) 11:55</p>

<p>D * Wehrenberg (Gardner, Marttinen) 16:37</p>

<p>Second Period </p>

<p>D * Baumgartner (unassisted) 4:41 (sh)</p>

<p>D * Sexton (Gardner, Wehrenberg) 11:27 (pp)</p>

<p>N * Wallis (Daniel, Swezey) 17:24</p>

<p>D * Weiner (Rotundo, Lankelis) 19:44 (pp)</p>

<p>Third Period </p>

<p>D * Gardner (Wehrenberg, Sexton) 1:01 (pp)</p>

<p>D * Rotundo (Lombardi, Bailey) 1:43</p>

<p>N * Martin (Gross, Anliker) 4:24</p>

<p>N * Keller (Bowen, Westerman) 10:45</p>

<p>N * Culliton (Gross, Heitman) 13:20</p>

<p>D * Baumgartner (Wehrenberg, Sexton) 14:00 (pp)</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Thanks to everyone that has e-mailed me with updates and corrections. This is the first time anybody has ever put together a list like this so I appreciate everybody’s input.</p>

<p>Navy Football Varsity Letterwinners That Also Served As Brigade Commander</p>

<p>Name Class
Don Whitmire 1947
Stansfield Turner 1947
Peter Van Nort 1959
Walt Pierce 1963
Joe Ince 1964
Stephen Leaman 1969
Dan Pike 1970
Mike Hecomovich 1971
Chuck Voith 1973
Dan Driscoll 1974
Frazier Frantz 1983
Zerbin Singleton 2007</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>For: Immediate Release
Sent: January 5, 2007
Contact: Scott Strasemeier (410) 293-8775</p>

<p>Poinsettia Bowl Television Ratings Jump 38 Percent</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md.‹Television ratings for the Dec. 20 Poinsettia Bowl between Navy and Utah jumped 38 percent from the year before going from a 1.45 for last year¹s TCU-Northern Illinois game to a 2.00 this year. The 38 percent increase is the second highest ratings jump for any bowl game this year. The Music City Bowl had the highest ratings increase, jumping 80 percent (2.23 to 4.02) from the year before.</p>

<p>The Poinsettia Bowl drew better television ratings than six other bowl games despite the game not starting until 9 p.m. Eastern time: the New Orleans Bowl (1.63, Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic), the New Mexico Bowl (1.96, Nevada vs. New Mexico), the Hawaii Bowl (1.47, East Carolina vs. Boise State), the Independence Bowl (1.90, Alabama vs. Colorado), the Armed Force Bowl (1.99, California vs. Air Force) and the Humanitarian Bowl (0.77, Fresno State vs. Georgia Tech).</p>

<p>Navy played in the Meineke Car Care Bowl last year against Boston College and drew a rating of 3.87. This year¹s Meineke Car Care Bowl game between Wake Forest and Connecticut drew a 3.74, a drop of three percent.</p>

<p>This marks the fifth-consecutive year that Navy has increased the television ratings for the bowl game it was playing in or for the time slot from the previous year.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>For: Immediate Release
Sent: January 5, 2007
Contact: Scott Strasemeier (410) 293-8775</p>

<p>Johns To Coach Inside Linebackers At The Naval Academy</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Naval Academy head football coach Ken Niumatalolo announced tSaturday that Steve Johns has joined the Navy coaching staff and will coach the inside linebackers. Johns has been a college football coach for 17 years, including six seasons at UNLV where he coached with Niumatalolo and for the legendary John Robinson.</p>

<p>“Steve Johns has a bright, innovative football mind and is an important addition to our coaching staff,” said Niumatalolo. “He was a highly successful linebackers and special teams coach at UNLV and will be a valuable asset for us as a recruiter on the West Coast. I am excited that Steve is joining our staff.”</p>

<p>“I am very excited to be back working with Coach Niumatalolo, especially at a place like the Naval Academy. The Naval Academy is a special place with special young men and women and I am excited to be able to help out in any way that I can.”</p>

<p>Johns has spent the last two seasons at Grossmont Junior College in El Cajon, Calif., where he served as the defensive coordinator and was a professor in the exercise science department. In 2006, the Griffins were Foothill Conference Champions and posted a 10-2 record thanks to a defense that gave up a school-record 7.6 points per contest. Four of his defensive backs off that team were offered Division I scholarships as Terry Mixon went to Washington State, Sharrod Davis accepted a scholarship to Fresno State, Jeff Howard went to UNLV and Abraham Mulheize matriculated to Montana State.</p>

<p>In 2005, Johns served as defensive coordinator at the University of La Verne in La Verne, Calif., where he led the Leopards to their first winning season in eight years.</p>

<p>Johns coached at UNLV from 1999-2004, serving as a graduate assistant (defensive ends and punt team) for one year before being hired on full time and coaching the linebackers, coordinating the special teams and handling the recruiting coordinator duties for the final five seasons. Two of his linebackers, Ryan Claridge (New England Patriots) and Adam Seward (Carolina Panthers), were drafted in the 2005 NFL Draft.</p>

<p>Claridge recorded 290 tackles with 18.5 sacks and 36 tackles for a loss in his career with the Rebels. In 2004, he led the Mountain West Conference and was ranked ninth in the nation with nine sacks. He was a Second-Team All-Mountain West Conference selection.</p>

<p>Seward played all three linebacker positions for the Rebels and was named All-Mountain West Conference three times. When he graduated in 2004, he left as the all-time leader in tackles (433) in both UNLV and MWC history. He also had six sacks, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two interceptions in his career.</p>

<p>Johns began his coaching career at Occidental College, where he coached the defensive line from 1993-95. He coached at the University of San Diego in 1996, serving as the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator, before moving on to the University of La Verne, where he coached the defensive line in 1997 and the defensive backs in 1998, while also coordinating the special teams.</p>

<p>Johns is a 1991 graduate of Occidental College, where he was an all-conference linebacker and earned his BA in political science in 1991 and his MA in education in 1995. In 2006, he earned a Masters of Sports Science from the United States Sports Academy.</p>

<p>Niumatalolo also announced today that Danny O’Rourke will move from inside linebackers to wide receivers coach.</p>

<p>Transactions
Naval Academy-Named Steve Johns, defensive coordinator at Grossmont College, inside linebackers coach. Announced that Danny O’Rourke will move from inside linebackers to wide receivers coach.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Men’s Swimming & Diving
Harvard 176, Navy 124</p>

<p>For Immediate Release
Sent Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772</p>

<p>Navy Suffers First Men’s Swimming Loss of the Year</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Harvard posted victories in 10 of the 16 contested events to record a 176-124 victory over the Navy men’s swimming and diving team, Saturday afternoon in Lejeune Hall. The Crimson improved to 4-0 on the season with the win, with each victory coming against Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League opponents, while the Midshipmen suffered their first loss of the season (11-1) and fell to 2-1 on the year against EISL schools.</p>

<p>Harvard was ranked first in the most recent CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Ranking, with Navy ranked sixth in the same national poll.</p>

<p>“I asked our guys to race with a lot heart today, and I feel they met that goal,” said Navy men’s swimming head coach Bill Roberts. “Harvard came out on top today, but I was very pleased with our efforts and our times across the board.”</p>

<p>Navy’s Jon Galinski (Jr., Phoenix, Md.) picked up a pair of victories on the day by sweeping the two diving events. He tallied a score of 324.45 to win the one-meter event by 22 points, then accrued 351.00 points to win the three meter by 21 points. </p>

<p>The results marked the first time in his career that Galinski had won both boards during a dual meet.</p>

<p>Adam Meyer (So., Bethesda, Md.) set a Navy metric pool record in winning the 400 individual medley. His time of 4:24.29 won him the event by nearly two seconds and broke the previous school record time of 4:36.01 set by Andrew Thorn three years ago.</p>

<p>Earlier in the meet, Meyer won the 200 fly with a time of 2:03.27.</p>

<p>In addition to his two victories, Meyer also placed second in the 200 breaststroke by 1.36 seconds.</p>

<p>Alex Oldenkamp (Jr., Coppell, Texas) followed Meyer’s 200 fly victory by winning the 50 free in a time of 22.97. Immediately after the ensuing break in the meet, teammate Aaron Aiken (Fr., Ocala, Fla.) posted a time of 51.39 to win the 100 freestyle race.</p>

<p>Some of the additional strong efforts by the Mids included Christopher Jenkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) being edged by eight-tenths of a second in the 200 freestyle, Billy Vey (Jr., Huntersville, N.C.) finishing one-half of a second behind the winner in the 200 backstroke, and Navy’s meet-closing 200 freestyle relay team placing second to Harvard by less than two-tenths of a second.</p>

<p>Navy will look to start a new winning streak next week when the Midshipmen play host to Cornell and Yale in a 12 Noon meet in Lejeune Hall.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>For Immediate Release
Sent Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772</p>

<p>Ohio Offense Controls Navy</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Ohio held the Navy women’s basketball team to 19 percent shooting from the field in the first half and then shot nearly 65 percent from the floor in the second half to record an 81-52 victory over the Mids, Saturday evening at Alumni Hall.</p>

<p>A Cassie Consedine (Fr., Bartlesville, Okla.) jumper with 12:05 left in the first half cut the Navy deficit down to 17-10, but it would be the last field goal of the half for the Mids as Navy misfired on each of its remaining 12 shots from the floor leading up to halftime. While its offense struggled, the Navy defense played pretty well down the stretch and forced the Bobcats into 4-of-19 shooting from the field during the same time frame. That would result in Ohio taking a 28-14 advantage into the locker rooms at intermission.</p>

<p>Navy’s offense started to click early in the second half as the Mids needed less than six minutes to match its first half scoring tally, but Ohio connected on nine of its opening 11 shots from the floor to build a 52-31 lead with just under 12 minutes left to play. The Bobcats closed that initial 9-of-11 stretch by sinking eight-straight field goal attempts.</p>

<p>“We were not good at all on offense in the first half,” said Navy head coach Tom Marryott. “But even with that, if we had played some defense we would have been fine. The second half was a complete letdown on the defense end. Ohio is a very good offensive team, but our lack of paying attention to detail led to a lot of open shots for them and you can’t allow a good team to have those.”</p>

<p>Ohio converted 20-of-31 field goal attempts (64.5%) and drilled 6-of-10 attempts (60%) from behind the three-point line in the second half. The Bobcats outshot Navy 49.2%-29.1% from the field in the game and connected on 10-of-19 three-point attempts (52.6%), while holding the Mids to a 2-of-5 effort (40%) from behind the three-point stripe.</p>

<p>Ohio’s Lauren Kohn finished with 19 points to lead all players in scoring, while Consedine recorded her seventh double-double of the year for the Mids with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.</p>

<p>Navy ends its non-conference season with a 4-11 record, while Ohio improves to 7-6 on the year. The Mids now turn their attention to the start of the Patriot League season Jan. 12 when Navy plays host to Bucknell in Alumni Hall.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Mids Overcome Sluggish Start to Rout Longwood </p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men’s basketball team overcame a sluggish first half to breeze past Longwood, 73-55, on Saturday night in Alumni Hall. The win gives Navy a four-game winning streak for the first time since Feb. 21 - March 4, 2001, and moves Navy’s record to 7-8 overall. Longwood dropped to 4-14 with the loss. </p>

<p>The story again offensively was the trio of Greg Sprink, Chris Harris and Kaleo Kina. The threesome scored 57 of Navy’s 73 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and dished out 11 assists. Sprink recorded the first double-double of the year for a Navy player with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Kina added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Harris scored 18 points with five assists and no turnovers. </p>

<p>“They are playing with a lot confidence right now. It’s no secret that they are the ones that we look to on offense to make plays,” said Navy head coach Billy Lange. “They have worked very hard in all aspects to get better and it is showing.” </p>

<p>Navy also got a solid effort from freshman Romeo Garcia. The 6-4 guard finished with just two points, but grabbed 10 rebounds with two assists and two blocks, while committing no turnovers in 34 minutes. Garcia held Longwood’s leading scorer Kirk Williams to just 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Williams entered averaging about 17 points a game and was coming off a 21-point performance on Wednesday at Boston College. </p>

<p>“I thought our defensive intensity tonight was outstanding, and it all started with Romeo (Garcia),” said Lange. “It was a great team effort led by him. The team fed off him and responded at the start of the second half in a tight game. I was pleased with the way we played tonight when we didn’t shoot the ball well offensively.” </p>

<p>The two teams slugged it out in the first half, shooting a combined 15-of-63 (.238) from the field, and committing 22 turnovers, en route to a 23-23 halftime tie. </p>

<p>The Mids came out in the second half and seized control immediately. Navy scored 25 of the first 32 points of the half to grab a 48-30 lead seven minutes into the second half. Longwood would get no closer than 11 at 52-41 the rest of the way. </p>

<p>Navy outscored the Lancers, 50-32, in the second half for the 18-point victory. The Midshipmen limited the Lancers to shoot just 26.2 percent (17-of-65) for the contest, and forced 17 turnovers. </p>

<p>“It all started with the defense. We were able to take better care of the ball in the second half and generate some offense because of our defense,” said Lange. “I thought Longwood played tremendous in the first half. They were very well-prepared and had more defensive energy than we had offensive energy. We picked up our energy in the second half.” </p>

<p>Navy finished the game shooting 21-of-57 (.368) from the field, including 14-of-28 (.500) in the second half. The Mids dominated the glass, outrebounding Longwood, 53-41. </p>

<p>Navy wrapped up its non-conference portion of the schedule with the victory and will now prepare for its Patriot League opener at Bucknell next Friday night on ESPNU. </p>

<p>“We have taken every game one step at a time and are just looking to improve in all areas,” said Navy junior guard Kaleo Kina. “As good as Bucknell is, we just have to focus on us and our game. This week is about sharpening our skills and getting ready for the league.” </p>

<p>Navy was also 7-of-21 from three-point range and went 24-of-32 from the free throw line. Navy also blocked a season-high seven shots. Freshman Mark Veazey grabbed seven rebounds, while Brian Richards and Adam Teague added five. </p>

<p>The 53 rebounds were the most for the Navy team since grabbing 71 against Lafayette on Feb. 23, 2005. The seven blocks were the most since blocking seven against UMBC on Jan. 3, 2006. </p>

<p>Navy and Bucknell will square off at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pa., next Friday night at 7:00 pm. The game will be aired by ESPNU with Bob Socci and John Feinstein calling the action.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>Navy posts 1-2 record at Lone Star Duals</p>

<p>For Immediate Release
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008
Wrestling Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773</p>

<p>Navy Grapplers Cruise Past Columbia, Drop Pair to Nationally-Ranked Oklahoma and Wisconsin</p>

<p>SOUTH GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — The No. 21 Navy wrestling team opened the dual portion of its schedule by sandwiching a win over Columbia (31-9) between a pair of losses to No. 19 Oklahoma (28-6) and No. 14 Wisconsin (23-12) Saturday at the Lone Star Duals in South Grand Prairie, Texas. </p>

<p>“We lost to two ranked teams today and in looking back, I think we wrestled the uniform a little bit,” said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. “Our intensity level wasn’t quite there. I don’t think we competed quite as hard of as we should have. It wasn’t a bad effort, but it goes back to us winning those close matches. If you go back and look at the results, you’ll see how close we were.”</p>

<p>Navy opened the day with a deceiving 28-6 loss against Oklahoma. Though the Mids came away with just two individual wins, Navy lost three of the eight matches by two or fewer points. Brian Helton held off Navy junior Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.), 6-5, at 133 pounds, while eighth-ranked Will Rowe used his 1:43 riding time to earn a 6-5 decision over Navy senior Spencer Manley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) at 149 pounds. Second-year standout Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) put up a fight at 141 pounds, but 11th-ranked Zack Bailey took the match, 7-5. Navy All-American Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) , ranked No. 9 nationally, earned the first of three wins on the day by edging Jeff James, 3-2. Meanwhile, senior Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.), who has won titles in each of the last two tournaments in which he has competed and is ranked seventh in the country, earned an overtime victory over 14th-ranked Nathan Fernandez, 4-2.</p>

<p>The Mids had little time to reflect on their opening match, as they were sent back to the mat to face EIWA foe Columbia. Navy extended its winning streak to 23 in a row against the Lions, winning seven of the 10 matches, including four extra-point bouts. The Mids earned six points at the 174, 184 and 197-pound classes. Stolpinski pinned Andy Geving at 3:51, while senior Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.), who has battled injury in recent weeks, earned the win by fall over Ray Resnick. Junior Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.) didn’t even have to break a sweat to help award the Mids six points as Columbia’s Nick Sommerfeld was unable to compete because of injury. Navy’s fourth extra-point win was by Baker, who easily defeated Jerome Greco, 15-1. Additionally, junior Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) returned to the mat at 157 pounds to take a 4-0 win over Matt Dunn, while rookie Matt DiMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.) produced the first of two wins on the day behind a 4-1 decision over !
Joe Kushnerick.</p>

<p>In its final match of the day, Navy was tripped up by the Badgers who won seven of the 10 matches against Navy, but earned just two extra-point wins. Stolpinski completed his 3-0 sweep of the day by defeating Justin Peterson, 7-3, while Manley earned a 4-1 triumph over Kendall Vogel for his first win over the day. Meanwhile, DeMichiel pinned Wisconsin’s Dan Clum at 3:44 to give Navy and extra three points. Baker once again was bitten by the oh-so-close bug, as he nearly knocked off 18th-ranked Zach Tanelli. Tanelli, for the second time this year, edged Baker, 3-2. Moyer also put up a great fight in his match against No. 7 Dallas Herbst who earned a point for his escape in what would be the final outcome. Junior heavyweight Scott Steele (Baltimore, Md.) wrestled for the Mids in the finale, but it was No. 15 Kyle Massey who would go on to win the match, 3-1.</p>

<p>The Midshipmen return to action on Thursday when they play host to their first home dual of the season, a 7:00 matchup against in-state rival Maryland. Takedown Radio will broadcast the match live from Halsey Field House. Navy will then make the short trek to Washington, D.C. where the Mids will square off against American a 7:00 pm.</p>

<p>“We have two tough duals this week beginning with Maryland at home on Thursday,” added Burnett. “I’m looking forward to getting back to Annapolis and wrestling in front of our fans.”</p>

<p>Oklahoma 28, Navy 6
125 - Joey Fio (OU) dec Allan Stein (N), 13-8
133 - Brian Shelton dec Joe Baker (N), 6-5
141 - #11 Zack Bailey (OU) dec Glenn Shober (N), 7-5
149 - #8 Will Rowe (OU) dec Spencer Manley (N), 3-0 RT
157 - Chad Terry (OU) dec Joel Ahern (N), 8-2 RT
165 - #12 Max Dean (OU) dec Matt DiMichiel (N), 8-4 RT
174 - #9 Matt Stolpinski (N) dec Jeff James (OU), 3-2
184 - #7 Josh Weitzel (OU) major Matt Parsons, 14-6 RT
197 - #5 Joel Flaggert (OU) fall Tyler Moyer (N), 2:37
HWT - #7 Ed Prendergast (N) dec #14 Nathan Fernandez (OU), 4-2 TB2</p>

<p>Navy 31, Columbia 9
125 - #17 Brandon Kinney (C) dec Allan Stein (N), 9-3
133 - Joe Baker (N) major Jerome Greco (C), 15-1
141 - Sal Tirico (C) dec Glenn Shober (N), 2-0
149 - Anthony Constantino (C) dec Spencer Manley (N), 5-4
157 - Joel Ahern (N) dec Matt Dunn (C), 4-0
165 - Matt DiMichiel (N) dec Joe Kushnerick (C), 4-1
174 - #9 Matt Stolpinski (N) fall Andy Geving (C), 3:51
184 - Matt Parsons (N) fall Ray Resnick (C), 1:22
197 - Tyler Moyer (N) inj. default Nick Sommerfeld (C)
HWT - #7 Ed Prendergast (N) dec Jed Wade (C), 4-2</p>

<p>Wisconsin 23, Navy 12
125 - Colin Cudd (W) dec Allan Stein (N), 10-4
133 - #18 Zach Tanelli (W) dec Joe Baker (N), 3-2
141 - #8 Kyle Ruschell (W) major Glenn Shober (N), 10-0
149 - Spencer Manley (N) dec Kendall Vogel (C), 4-1 RT
157 - #2 Craig Henning (W) major Joel Ahern (N), 8-0 RT
165 - Matt DiMichiel (N) fall Dan Clum (W), 3:44
174 - #9 Matt Stolpinski (N) dec Justin Peterson (W), 7-3
184 - #11 Trevor Brandvold (W) dec Matt Parsons (N), 7-3 RT
197 - #7 Dallas Herbst (W) dec Tyler Moyer (N), 1-0
HWT - #15 Kyle Massey (W) dec Scott Steele (N), 3-1</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>NEWARK, DEL (Saturday, January 5, 2008) – Sophomore goaltender Eric Anderson anchored a strong defense to lead Navy’s ice hockey team to an impressive 4-2 Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) triumph over the University of Delaware Saturday night at the Fred Rust Arena in Newark.</p>

<p>With the hard-fought victory, the Midshipmen improved to 7-14-0 overall and 2-12-0 in the prestigious ESCHL. With their loss, the Blue Hens dropped to 16-5-1 overall and 9-4-1 in the league. Delaware was #7 in the latest American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) rankings released in late December; Navy was not among the ACHA’s top 25 teams.</p>

<p>For the second consecutive night, Navy took a 1-0 lead thanks to a Matt Swezey goal. Swezey, who was recently converted from a defenseman to a forward, tallied at 12:32 while Delaware’s Andrew Bailey was serving a five-minute major penalty. Seniors Nick Schwob and Drew Stoner assisted on Swezey’s power play goal, which beat Blue Hen netminder Jimmy Depfer high on his glove side.</p>

<p>Delaware tied the game 1-1 before the first period ended thanks to a disputed Thomas Keough power play tally at the 16:59 mark. Keough’s goal was allowed even though it appeared the net came off its moorings before the puck had crossed the goal line.</p>

<p>The Mids regained their one-goal lead, 2-1, early in the second stanza when sophomore Keegan Kinkade scored at 4:48. Schwob had fought hard to carry the puck toward the net and feed it to Kinkade, and as a result picked up the lone assist on the even strength tally.</p>

<p>Navy took its first two-goal lead of the night midway through the second period when junior Charlie Daniel won a face-off in Delaware’s end of the ice and fed the puck back to senior Donnie Horner. Horner then blasted the puck from the point past Depfer at 12:32 to give the Mids a 3-1 advantage.</p>

<p>Delaware pulled within a goal late in the third period when Ben Rotundo poked a rebound past Anderson at the 15:24 mark after the Navy netminder had made the initial save, trimming the Mids’ lead to 3-2.</p>

<p>But the Mids clinched the victory when junior Nolan Anliker slid the puck into an empty net with just nine seconds left in regulation time after Delaware had pulled Depfer for an extra attacker. Classmate Jeff Martin assisted on Anliker’s goal, which earned Navy’s Mike Fox the biggest win of his head coaching career thus far.</p>

<p>Anderson’s performance between the pipes earned him #1 star of the game recognition from the Navy radio broadcasting duo of Josh Martinelli and Jim Guiberson.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, because Delaware’s scorekeeper did not record shots or saves on the game’s official scoresheet, there was no record of exactly how many saves Anderson or Depfer had.</p>

<p>Navy is now idle until next weekend, when the Mids travel to Scranton, PA for a pair of ESCHL games against Scranton’s Ice Royals on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Both games will begin at 4:30 p.m.</p>

<p>SCORING SUMMARY</p>

<p>NAVY 1 2 1 - 4</p>

<p>Delaware 1 0 1 - 2</p>

<p>First Period</p>

<p>N – Swezey (Schwob, Stoner) 12:32 (pp)</p>

<p>D – Keough (Baumgartner, Sexton) 16:59 (pp)</p>

<p>Second Period</p>

<p>N – Kinkade (Schwob) 4:48</p>

<p>N- Horner (Daniel) 12:32</p>

<p>Third Period</p>

<p>D – Rotundo (Weiner) 15:24</p>

<p>N – Anliker (Martin) 19:51 (en)</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>For Immediate Release
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771</p>

<p>Two Mids Compete at National Pole Vault Summit</p>

<p>RENO, Nev. - Navy women’s track & field pole vaulters Jacqui Charnigo (Sr./Medina, Ohio) and Jessica Schlaegel (So./Nashport, Ohio) both competed in the 18th annual National Pole Vault Summit at the Reno Livestock Event Center on Saturday.</p>

<p>Charnigo, who qualified for the ECAC Championship during the season-opening meet, cleared 11’2" (3.40 meters) during the day. Later in the night, Schlaegel stepped up and surpassed the 10’8" (3.25 meters) bar, despite turning her ankle during the warmup session.</p>

<p>The National Pole Vault Summit featured many of the country’s top elite, college and high school competitors, with clinics provided on Friday afternoon.</p>

<p>Navy also participated at the UMES Invitational against several MEAC schools and club teams on Friday afternoon. Results from that meet have not been released.</p>

<p>The Midshipmen return to action on Saturday, Jan. 19, when they host George Mason, James Madison, Mount St. Mary’s, North Carolina, VCU and William & Mary in Halsey Field House.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>For Immediate Release
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771</p>

<p>Navy Falls to Princeton, 96-85</p>

<p>PRINCETON, N.J. - Despite winning eight events and posting six IC4A-qualifying marks, the Navy men’s track & field came up on the short end of a 96-85 decision against Princeton in dual-meet action at Jadwin Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.</p>

<p>“We had a couple of late kicks that got us today,” stated Navy head coach Stephen Cooksey. “A couple of those really close events go our way, it could have flipped the meet for us. Our guys competed very well and we go to work from here.”</p>

<p>The Mids performed well on the track, claiming six titles and three IC4A marks. John Olsen (Sr./Staten Island, N.Y.) qualified for the IC4A Championship with a career-best and event-winning time of 8:21.06 in the 3,000-meter run. All-American middle distance runner Paul Harris (Sr./Fairburn, Ga.) won the 500-meter run with an IC4A-qualifying clocking of 1:03.08. Despite getting edged at the finish line, indoor team captain Craig Meekins (Sr./Baldwin, N.Y.) met the IC4A qualifying standard in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.28.</p>

<p>Andrew Grant (Jr./Athens, Ga.) won the mile with a time of 4:18.53, Will Ricks (Sr./Hopewell, Va.) paced the field in the 400-meter dash with a 50.52-second showing and Ron Belany (Sr./Haiku, Hawai’i) crossed the finish line first in the 60-meter hurdles with an 8.40-second clocking during the finals. Navy’s 4x800-meter relay of Ricky Griffith (So./Piedmont, Calif.), Tyler Morrison (So./Okemos, Mich.), Lucas Burke (Sr./Bakersfield, Calif.) and Grant combined for a first-place time of 7:57.41. The Midshipmen 4x400-meter relay of Vince Carpentier (So./Branchburg, N.J.), Ricks, Harris and Sam Brinson (So./Madison, N.C.) teamed for a 3:20.15 showing to win the event.</p>

<p>In the field portion of the meet, Navy’s shot put duo of Darryl Hunter (Sr./Des Moines, Iowa) and Andre Barber (Sr./Carrollton, Texas) each produced IC4A distances to finish first and second, respectively. Hunter uncorked a toss of 54’4-3/4" (16.58 meters), while Barber followed with a 51’7" (15.72 meters) showing. Christopher Bordino (Jr./Gastonia, N.C.) recorded a personal-best, IC4A-qualifying mark of 56’1-1/4" (17.10 meters) in the weight throw to place third on Sunday.</p>

<p>The Midshipmen return to action next Saturday when they host Penn, VCU and UMBC in the first of back-to-back home meets in Halsey Field House.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>For Immediate Release
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771</p>

<p>Navy Records 15 Top-Three Marks at UMES Invitational</p>

<p>PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The Navy women’s track & field team owned the top-three marks in two events to highlight a total of 15 top-three performances in the non-team scoring UMES Invitational at the Hytche Athletic Center on Friday. The Midshipmen competed against host UMES, Hampton and several elite club teams.</p>

<p>“It was a typical post-semester break meet for us,” stated Navy head coach Carla Criste. “We were alright. We were right in the pack with the other teams. I’m looking forward to getting back and improving from here.”</p>

<p>In the 3,000-meter run, Navy recorded the three fastest times and were only separated by 1.03 seconds. Kyleigh Millhouse (Sr./Boiling Springs, Pa.) won the event with a time of 10:28.84, followed by Amy Watson’s (So./Hampstead, Md.) second-place showing of 10:29.48 and Jenny Rubin’s (So./Papillion, Neb.) third-place 10:29.87 clocking.</p>

<p>In the weight throw, the Midshipmen produced the three-best distances on the day. Mia Blundetto (So./Apple Valley, Minn.) placed first with a toss of 41’5-3/4" (12.64 meters), while Carolynn Hine (Sr./Wilmington, N.C.) released a throw of 38’3/4" (11.60 meters) for second place and Amber Scott (So./Chattaroy, Wash.) came in third with a 38’1/4" (11.59 meters) effort.</p>

<p>Navy produced six other top-three performances in the field events, with four coming between the long and triple jumps. Gloria Hill (Sr./Mitchville, Md.) placed second in the long jump with a distance of 17’9-1/2" (5.42 meters) and Ashley Bucholz (Fr./DeBerry, Fla.) landed third with a 16’5-3/4" (5.02 meters) effort. Indoor team captain Lauren Burmeister (Sr./Brownsdale, Minn.) finished second with a distance of 36’6-1/4" (11.13 meters) in the triple jump, followed by Bucholz’s 35’1/2" (10.68 meters) third-place mark. Joy Nameth (Fr./Walden, Colo.) placed second in the shot put with a toss of 41’3-1/4" (12.58 meters) and Rebecca Tucker (Sr./Oregon City, Ore.) cleared 5’1-3/4" (1.57 meters) in the high jump for second place.</p>

<p>On the track, Katie Rentz (Fr./San Diego, Calif.) came in second during the mile run with a 5:25.06 showing and Katie Calhoun (So./Lancaster, Pa.) followed in third place with a time of 5:31.51. Navy’s 4x400-meter relay of Taren Burkett (Sr./Virginia Beach, Va.), Burmeister, Chelsea Chlebo (Fr./Fredericksburg, Va.) and Joanna Clark (Sr./Harpers Ferry, W.Va.) combined for a third-place showing of 4:11.69.</p>

<p>Yesterday, Jacqui Charnigo (Sr./Medina, Ohio) and Jessica Schlaegel (So./Nashport, Ohio) competed at the 18th annual National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev.</p>

<p>Navy will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 19, when it hosts George Mason, James Madison, Mount St. Mary’s, North Carolina, VCU and William & Mary.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>For Immediate Release
Sent Monday, Jan. 7, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772</p>

<p>Consedine Earns Third Weekly Honor from the Patriot League</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Averages of 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds a game helped Navy basketball player Cassie Consedine (Fr., Bartlesville, Okla.) earn her third Patriot League Rookie of the Week accolade Monday afternoon. </p>

<p>In addition to scoring all 15 of her points during the second half of Navy’s Jan. 2 victory over Fordham, she also contributed five rebounds and four blocked shots in the game. Included in her scoring effort were the initial six points of a game-closing 13-0 run by the Mids as they rallied to record the 55-45 triumph over the Rams. She concluded the week by posting her seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 caroms in Navy’s loss to Ohio Saturday night. </p>

<p>Consedine previously garnered the honor, which is open only to freshmen, on both Nov. 12 and Nov. 19. Her three awards ranks second in Navy’s 17-year Patriot League history to Becky Dowling who received five weekly freshmen nods during the 1994-95 season.</p>

<p>Through games of Jan. 6, Consedine ranks 18th nationally with a 2.57 blocks-per-game average and 76th with her 8.6 rebounds-per-game average. She also ranks sixth in the Patriot League –– and first among freshmen –– with a scoring average of 12.9 points per game.</p>

<p>Navy will open its Patriot League season Saturday evening when the Midshipmen play host to Bucknell in a 7 p.m. game in Alumni Hall.</p>

[GreatAmerican]

<p>College football¹s regular season was better than the bowls
By BLAIR KERKHOFF | The Kansas City Star</p>

<p>MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS</p>

<p>Stanford’s Mark Bradford went up high for a touchdown grab that changed the season. The 41-point-underdog Cardinal upset mighty Southern California 24-23 and threw open the top ranking.</p>

<p>A month earlier, Appalachian State¹s Corey Lynch blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt and sealed the first victory by a Division I-AA program over a ranked Division I-A team, No. 5 Michigan.</p>

<p>In a season filled with lasting memories, return to Nov. 24. Kansas City becomes the center of the college football universe when No. 2 Kansas meets No. 3 Missouri. More than 80,000 pack Arrowhead Stadium for a sight to behold. Based on ranking, this was the biggest game of the regular season and the most important game in one of college football¹s oldest and most bitter rivalries.</p>

<p>THREE BEST GAMES</p>

<p>Navy 46, Notre Dame 44, 3OT</p>

<p>Coming off a loss to Delaware, the Midshipmen didn¹t figure to be up to the challenge of ending a 43-game losing streak to the Irish. But Navy stuffed Notre Dame¹s two-point conversion after the third overtime touchdown and sent the academy into delirium.</p>

<p>Kentucky 43, LSU 37, 3OT</p>

<p>Wildcats quarterback Andre Woodson staked his Heisman claim by leading Kentucky to one of the biggest victories in school history. This one had LSU fans scratching their heads over coach Les Miles, who needed a touchdown in the third overtime and called four straight running plays.</p>

<p>Arkansas 50, LSU 48, 3OT</p>

<p>Razorbacks running back Darren McFadden rushed for 206 yards as Arkansas pulled off the stunner at Death Valley that was thought to have derailed LSU¹s national-title hopes. But the dominoes fell just right for the Tigers, who made the most of their second chance.</p>

<p>THREE BIGGEST SURPRISES</p>

<p>Kansas. The Jayhawks were the surprise of the 21st century.</p>

<p>Illinois. Forget the Rose Bowl pratfall. Remember the victory at Ohio State.</p>

<p>Virginia. Many close victories followed opening-game loss at Wyoming.</p>

<p>THREE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS</p>

<p>Notre Dame. From BCS to oblivion.</p>

<p>California. From a chance at No. 1 to a 6-6 regular season.</p>

<p>Louisville. The Cardinals turned out to be Brian Brohm and little else.</p>

<p>TOP THREE PLAYERS</p>

<p>Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU</p>

<p>The game’s dominant defensive force could be the overall No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Dorsey changes the way teams play offensively, and now he’s wearing a national championship ring.</p>

<p>Tim Tebow, QB, Florida</p>

<p>Being college football’s first 20/20 player ‹ passing and rushing touchdowns ‹ allowed Tebow to become the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. A national championship run is expected in 2008.</p>

<p>Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri</p>

<p>Daniel took the Tigers to the next level with a strong arm and an array of talented receivers. Missouri loses All-American tight end Martin Rucker but returns All-American wide receiver and return specialist Jeremy Maclin.</p>

<p>THREE IN THE HOT SEAT, 2008</p>

<p>Greg Robinson, Syracuse. Nice victory over Louisville. Not much else in a
7-28 career.</p>

<p>Tim Brewster, Minnesota. After one season? Yes. Nobody expected 1-11 just one year after the Gophers went bowling.</p>

<p>Mike Stoops, Arizona. Nice finish to this season; now must build to improve 17-29 career mark.</p>