Army 16 Navy 16
133 - Zane Stickel (N) def. Matt Magennis (A), 3-1
141 - Mark Conley (N) def. Charles Russ (A), 7-2
149 - Eric Miller (A) def. Tom Storer (N), 6-5
157 - Don Waters (N) def. Ben Celver (A), 8-3
165 - Troy Yegge (A) major dec. James Griffin (N), 9-1
174 - Maurice Worthy (A) def. Mark Newman (N), 3-2
184 - Joey Hess (A) def. Mike Bigrigg (N), 8-4
197 - Justin Woodruff (N) major dec. John Paxton (A), 18-7
HWT - Steve Kovach (N) def. Eric Gust (A), 2-1 OT
125 - Brett Gendron (A) def. Drew Smith (N), 2-1 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Feb. 19) - A 2-1 victory by Army's Brett Gendron at 125 pounds deadlocked the annual Army-Navy wrestling dual at 16 apiece, as the Cadets and Mids tied for fifth time in its 44-year history. 

"We knew coming into this match that it would be a tough matchup with Army," said Navy head coach Reg Wicks. 

Navy started the dual with an early 6-0 lead, notching victories at 133 and 141 pounds. Senior Zane Stickel (Gahanna, Ohio) earned a 3-1 victory after scoring a two-point takedown with 1:04 remaining in the third period and another point was tacked on due to riding time. Stickel earned the takedown after literally dragging Army's Matt Magennis back onto the mat. At 141 pounds, Navy sophomore Mark Conley (Exton, Pa.) conquered Army's Charles Russ, 7-2. Conley scored three takedowns during the match, including two in the first period. The Exton, Pa., native earned another point with riding time. 

Army got on the board with an Eric Miller victory over Navy junior Tom Storer (Sicklersville, N.J.) at 149 pounds. A back-and-forth matchup between the wrestlers ended with Miller earning the decisive point on an escape with 49 seconds remaining in the bout. Senior Don Waters (Odenton, Md.) won his 12th match in the last 13 bouts with an 8-3 triumph over Ben Celver. It was sweet revenge for Waters, as Celver had defeated him at the All-Academy Championship at the beginning of the month. 

The Cadets claimed victories at 165, 174 and 184 pounds to take the lead, 13-9. Army's Troy Yegge scored a major decision, 9-1, over Navy's James Griffin (Devon, Pa.) at 165 pounds. At 174 pounds, Navy junior Mark Newman (Mayer, Minn.) nearly knocked off 19th-ranked Maurice Worthy, however, an escape by the Cadet with 1:05 left in the third period allowed Worthy to prevail, 3-2. Senior Joey Hess of Army cruised past Navy's Mike Bigrigg (Santa Ana, Calif.), 8-4, at 184 pounds. Deadlocked at two apiece in the first period, Hess earned a two-point takedown and a three-point near-fall with just two seconds remaining in the period. From there, Bigrigg earned just a point on an escape in the second period. 

Navy, though, began a rally behind team captain Justin Woodruff (Poway, Calif.). The Poway, Calif., native sparked the Mids with an 18-7 major decision over rookie 197-pounder John Paxton. Woodruff's victory knotted the score at 13-13. Navy freshman Steve Kovach (Parkersburg, Pa.) upset 2000 All-Academy Championship heavyweight champion Eric Gust in the heavyweight match. Both wrestlers scored on escapes during regulation. Kovach won the coin flip and chose the down position. His escape with just 10 seconds elapsed enabled the rookie to claim the victory over Gust, 2-1. 

"The major upset of the night was Steve Kovach," said Wicks. "He did a great job beating Gust after losing to him just a couple of weeks ago." 

Heading into the final match of the night, the Mids held a 16-13 advantage. At 125 pounds, junior Drew Smith (Lexington, Ohio) was matched up against Army's Brett Gendron who had pinned him just two weeks ago at the All-Academy Championship. A takedown by Gendron with 1:54 remaining in the final period gave Army the win, as the dual ended in a 16-16 tie. It marked the first time since Feb. 25, 1995 the Army-Navy wrestling match has ended in a tie. The final score of that bout was 15-15. 

"To be honest, I'm disappointed with the end result, but I'm extremely proud of the guys on the team," said Woodruff. "We really put all we had into this match and I've got to give Army credit for coming in here and working hard, as well. It's just another classic Army-Navy meeting." 

The Midshipmen wrestle in their final regular-season bout of the year next Saturday at Bucknell. Action is slated for 7 p.m. in Lewisburg, Pa. In just two weeks, Navy plays host to the 96th Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championship, March 3-4. Tickets for the event are available by calling the Navy ticket office at 1-800-US4-NAVY.