Looking for a way to build momentum heading into the postseason? Try winning the biggest meet of the season, blowing out a conference rival and breaking a historic school record - in one weekend.
The No. 20 Penn wrestling team may have waited until the last meet of the season to finally notch a win against a ranked opponent. But a 47-0 win at Princeton, a 21-15 nailbiter over No. 24 Lehigh and a tie versus No. 19 Nebraska create plenty of reason to expect a Penn-heavy postseason.
One wrestler who will surely be competing in both the EIWA and NCAA championships is senior Matt Valenti, a winner of all three of his matches this weekend and a new Penn recordholder with 129 career wins.
"It'll be something that's nice to look back on, after I'm done wrestling," Valenti said of the record. "But right now it doesn't mean all that much more than a number in a book."
But not even a historic school record can take the Quakers' minds off the tournaments that lay ahead. The focus and intensity was clear this weekend, beginning Saturday at the Palestra.
With the intent of knocking off its first ranked opponent this season, Penn came out strong against Nebraska with three straight victories by No. 10 Zack Shanaman, No. 11 Matt Herrington and No. 14 Lior Zamir.
"Anytime you're wrestling a team like Nebraska that added incentive to compete hard is there," said Penn coach Zeke Jones. "We've got some really good match energy. . I think there was some improvement over the past few weeks."
But dominance by the ranked wrestlers, not dominance by Penn, was the theme. The competitors with realistic national bid hopes won every match, except No. 20 Matt Eveleth, who lost a decision to Nebraska's Paul Donahoe, ranked 13th.
Heading into the final bout, Nebraska trailed, 17-14, needing a decision for the tie and a major, or better, for the win.
With Nebraska's No. 17 Chris Oliver facing unranked Matt Dragon at 157, odds were in the Cornhuskers' favor.
Realizing he needed to keep the match within six points to at least secure the tie, Dragon mostly wrestled a conservative bout. In the third period, with no points to his credit but a major decision unlikely, the Penn sophomore chose top position and went for the meet win.
Oliver was able to fend off the attack, however, and secured his win with a late escape, giving Penn its first tie since Jan. 19, 1999 against Cornell.
Luckily for the Quakers, they did not need to wait long to take out their anger over the disappointing tie. The team headed to New Jersey that evening and trounced the Tigers 47-0, its largest margin of victory this year.
The next day's win at Lehigh was not nearly as decisive. Penn regained the lead in the second-to-last match with a major decision by Rick Rappo.
With his team leading by three points, it was deja vu for Dragon in the final bout.
Despite a third-period scare in which Dave Nakasone earned all of his points, Dragon was able to take the win, 6-4, and give Penn its first and final outright victory over a ranked opponent this season. The timing may not have been coincidence.
"It's definitely been our goal to peak for the end of the season, and I think we're getting closer to that time," Valenti said.
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