Wrestlers dominate in home opener

The Palestra lights were dimmed and the introductions were made under a spotlight, but there was no band playing or cheerleaders flying around. Just a bunch of wrestlers, hungry to do battle. It wasn't much of a fight. In Penn's home-opener, the Quakers' little spark plug – senior tri-captain Gary Baker – got things started with an impressive pin and everything else fell right into place for the Penn grapplers as they soundly defeated Drexel 32-7. Baker, ranked 13th in the nation at 118 pounds, pinned Drexel sophomore Brett Kendall in the second period of the evening's opening match, setting the tone for things to come. "Coach [Roger] Reina has been telling me that because of my ranking, people are going to come out harder and stronger," Baker said. "I just tried to keep my poise and stick to the basics." Led by the strong showings of their tri-captains – seniors Shawn Heinrichs and Baker, and junior Brian Butler – the Quakers (1-0 overall) won eight of the 10 matches, including two pins (sophomore Brent Petroff and Baker) and two major decisions (senior Gonz Medina and Heinrichs). "I thought that the guys showed mental toughness in important situations," Reina said. "We won two out of the three matches that I felt were pivotal." Those matches were junior Roger London's 5-3 overtime win over Drexel freshman Josh Stanley (158 pounds), Butler's 4-2 win over No. 16-ranked junior Rich Evans (190 pounds), and freshman Brandon Slay's 7-5 overtime loss to No. 18-ranked Scott Morgan (167 pounds). London had lost to Stanley at the Bloomsburg Invitational Nov. 20 (3-2) and was looking for some revenge last night. He got it in the form of an exhausting overtime victory, one of the most intense contests of the match. "I had been thinking about the match since I lost to him in Bloomsburg," London said. "I was very fired up at the start of the match, and really glad to come out of there with a win." Butler led by example, defeating Evans for the second time this season – the first win coming at Bloomsburg. Along with Baker's pin, and Heinrichs's 12-4 major decision over freshman Mike Ubaldini (142 pounds), Butler's victory completed a perfect evening for the Quakers' outstanding trio of captains. Slay, the highly touted freshman, fell to Morgan for the second time this season. An overtime loss to a ranked opponent is quite an accomplishment, but the fact that Slay was in position to win the match made this one harder to swallow. Clinging to a 5-3 lead in the third period, he was called for a stalling penalty which brought the match into overtime – where Morgan would score two points on a takedown and win the match. "Brandon did a really good job and was in position to win that match," Reina said. "I think he made a freshman mistake in getting that stalling point called against him. He wasn't quite aware as to when the official was going to make that call, and he hung on a little too long." Slay's match turned out to be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, as Penn dominated its home mat. From lightweight Baker's leadoff pin to sophomore heavyweight Joe Allen's 12-4 debut win over freshman Jamie Huntington, the Quakers showed that they are indeed for real. Incidentally, Allen is also a running back on the Ivy champion Penn football team. "We have been working hard since the beginning of the year and our team was just tougher," Baker said. "Mentally, physically, and in terms of conditioning." Toughness, in every respect, definitely plays a significant role in a sport as grueling as wrestling, and Penn got the season off to a rousing start, giving its home crowd a performance to remember.