The Midshipmen joined the ranks for the first time since the 2008-09 preseason poll.
MANHEIM, Penn. — Exams are in full swing as the first semester comes to an end at college campuses across the nation, which means it was another short week of competition in Division I wrestling as there were only a few changes in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.
The United States Naval Academy (3-0) made its first appearance in the Top 25 since the preseason poll in 2008-09. Coach Joel Sharratt’s Midshipmen picked up a sound 22-13 victory over up-and-coming Drexel. Overall, its the 123rd time in program history Navy’s been ranked in the Coaches Poll.
MORE: Full NWCA Top 25 poll here
The Top 15 teams remained the same from last week and even with a short schedule nationally, eight of the nation’s top ten teams saw dual meet action. Second-ranked Ohio State (4-0) opened up its Big Ten Conference schedule with a 26-9 win over Indiana, while No. 4 Missouri (8-0) continued its Mid-American Conference schedule with a 36-6 win over Ohio. Fifth-ranked Lehigh headed to Philadelphia and beat Penn 41-6 before receiving a sizable scare from unranked Drexel. The Mountain Hawks improved to 6-1 with a 21-20 criteria victory over the Dragons, who are still receiving votes in the poll.
Sixth-ranked NC State improved to 9-0 and beat Appalachian State 34-3. The nine wins by the Wolfpack leads all Division I teams this season. Iowa (7-0) headed east and captured a pair of wins. On Friday, the Hawkeyes topped No. 16 Rutgers 23-15 in front of a Rutgers Athletic Center record crowd of 6,754. The Hawkeyes then headed to College Park and topped Maryland 40-6 to start 3-0 in Big Ten competition.
Hawkeye Wrestling is a way of life in Iowa! And the season is finally here! It’s time to #FightForIowa! #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/PMJrpLwwRc
— Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) November 16, 2017
No. 8 Minnesota (3-1) rolled past Fresno State 38-7 in Minneapolis, while No. 9 Michigan (2-1) shut out visiting Oregon State 48-0. Tenth-ranked Virginia Tech (4-1) beat Princeton in one of the featured duals at the 2017 Grapple at the Garden held at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
South Dakota State (4-2) won the only other matchup between ranked teams, stopping then-No. 18 Central Michigan 23-16 in Brookings. Central Michigan fell to 1-3 as the Chippewas went 0-2 on the swing through the Dakotas. Unranked North Dakota State beat Central Michigan 19-16, dropping the Chippewas five spots to No. 23. South Dakota State moved up one spot to No. 16.
College wrestling: 'Rowdy' Penn State-Lehigh wrestling crowd leads to unique atmosphere
Wisconsin moved up a spot after beating Maryland 32-6. Pittsburgh fell out of the Top 25 after losing to rival West Virginia 24-10.
The USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is comprised of two voting coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Points are 25 for each first-place vote, 24 for second, 23 for third all the way to a 25th-place vote is one point.
