Bucknell University Athletics
Wrestling Heads to Annapolis for Navy Classic
11/20/2015 3:46:00 PM | Wrestling
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell wrestling team will continue its stretch of road events when it visits Annapolis, Maryland, for the Navy Classic on Saturday. Brackets will be posted throughout the day on the wrestling page at www.NavySports.com. Preliminary rounds will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. and the finals at 5 p.m.
Bucknell will hope to use its recent momentum to perform well at the Navy Classic. There will be 10 total teams in attendance, with Navy having won the Classic in 19 of the 37 years it has been held. This will be the 10th consecutive season that the Bison have competed at the Classic.
Petrov will be looking to earn back-to-back titles as he is the returning champion from the 125-pound bracket, while Tyler Smith placed sixth last season at 141 pounds. Overall, Bucknell had four placewinners at the Navy Classic a year ago, but Tyler Lyster graduated and Joe Stolfi is not expected to wrestle this weekend.
Two of the teams competing at this weekend's Navy Classic are on the schedule later in the season for the Bison, with Brown visiting Sojka Pavilion in January and Bucknell traveling to George Mason in February.
The Bison are now 1-1 to start the season after winning 33-3 at Franklin & Marshall last Friday. The last time the squad won by a larger margin of victory was back in November of 2013, a 50-0 triumph over Shippensburg. Against Franklin & Marshall, Bucknell won nine of the 10 matches, including a comeback victory at 141 pounds by Smith against No. 13 Rick Durso. The Bison went up 27-0 at one point in the match to secure the victory.
Nationally ranked Paul Petrov and Victor Lopez both earned decisions against their competition in the dual vs. the Diplomats. Petrov, competing at 125, won 16-3 by major decision, while Lopez, competing at 149, was victorious 6-5.
Following last week's match against Franklin & Marshall, Bucknell also competed in individual competition at the Michigan State Open last Sunday. The Bison had seven placewinners on the day. Petrov continued his strong start to the season, going 3-0 on the day with two falls to capture the 125-pound title and bring his season record to 5-0. Other Bison who placed included Robert Schlitt (4th), Smith (7th), and Lopez (7th). Placewinners in the freshman/sophomore brackets also included Nick Stephani (2nd), Collin Boylan (5th), and Connor Wagh (6th).
Following the Navy Classic, Bucknell will be idle for two weeks until the Cliff Keen Invitational the first weekend of December.
Bucknell Projected Wrestlers at the Navy Classic (1-1, 1-1 EIWA)
125: No. 13 Paul Petrov (5-0), Mike Macklin (4-4), Ben Bliss (1-2)
133: Grim Gonzalez (4-2)
141: Tyler Smith (6-3), Kyle Greene (2-4)
149: Victor Lopez (5-2), Christian Bassolino (2-4), Collin Boylan (5-1)
157: Logan Kerin (1-3), Brian Lapham (1-2)
165: Robert Schlitt (4-3), D.J. Hollingshead (5-4), Brenan McAllister (0-4)
174: Rustin Barrick (3-2), Nick Stephani (4-5)
184: Tom Sleigh (0-0)
197: Tyler Greene (2-2), Rory Bonner (2-2)
285: Chuck Boddy (1-3)
Bucknell's Navy Classic Finishes
2006-07: 4th of 13
2007-08: 3rd of 12
2008-09: 3rd of 12
2009-10: 3rd of 9
2010-11: 2nd of 7
2011-12: 3rd of 7
2012-13: 6th of 9
2013-14: 8th of 14
2014-15: 7th of 13
Players Mentioned
