Navy drops California-Davis, 28-11, in season opener
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Meredith Wilson (UC-Davis Sports Information)
11/08/2003
DAVIS, Calif. - The U.S. Naval Academy won the final five matches - including three by major decision - as the Midshipmen beat UC Davis 28-11 in a season-opening wrestling match before 1,150 fans at Hickey Gym on Friday night. The Aggies won two bouts in Friday's match, including an electrifying pin by senior Jeremiah Jarvis just 43 seconds into his 157-pound match against Navy's Pat Lukanich. Freshman Derek Moore had a technical fall at 133 pounds for the Aggies' other win. The Midshipmen's win avenged a 16-15 loss to UC Davis in last year's opener. On Friday night, Jarvis' fall gave the Aggies an 11-10 lead, but Navy posted back-to-back major decision wins to take control. Frank Edwards beat Michael Font 8-0 at 165 pounds while Mike Barikian posted the same score in his victory over freshman Chris Fickes at 174. Chris Pogue stretched a slim 5-4 lead entering the final period into an 8-5 win against Brandon Bear at 184 pounds, while Thayer Paxton outscored the Aggies' Michael Clarkston in the third period, 7-4, winning 13-3 for another major decision. Tanner Garrett's 6-1 victory over Flynn Ficker at 285 pounds finished off a 17-point run by Navy. "They have a tough team," said Aggie coach Lennie Zalesky, whose squad was missing three starters for its opener. "I still thought we could beat them." Jarvis, who won UC Davis' first Pacific-10 Conference championship last season, provided one of the Aggies' top highlights, scoring a quick takedown against Lukanich before securing the pin less than a minute into the bout. It was Jarvis' 18th career win by fall, tying him for second in the Aggies' record book. Moore also had a bright start for UC Davis, cruising to a 16-0 technical fall win in his opener. A takedown and a two-point near-fall gave him a quick 4-0 lead at the end of the first period, while six points in the second and five more in the third ended the match. He picked up another point for riding time. Moore's victory gave UC Davis a 5-3 lead after Navy's Sam Gray beat Tommy Schurkamp 6-0 at the match's opening 125-pound match, while the Midshipmen reclaimed 7-5 lead with a 14-6 major decision by Nate Gulosh over Jeff Bristol at 141. A 9-5 win by Navy's Adam Brochetti over Kevin Jones at 149 set up Jarvis' victory, which gave UC Davis an 11-10 advantage heading into the final five bouts. "We'll get going, " said Zalesky, whose Aggies finished 7-7 overall last year. "We have a young team." UC Davis returns to action with a Nov. 21 matchup at Cal State Fullerton. The 4 p.m. match will also be the Aggies' Pac-10 opener.