Wrestlers topple No. 17 Big Red

Family, friends and fans stormed the floor of the Palestra after the Quakers won their much anticipated showdown. No, not the Penn-Princeton game. It was the Penn-Cornell match of course. Saturday evening, the Penn wrestling team ended Cornell's reign of six straight years without a loss against Ivy League competition, 18-15. The victory highlighted a 5-0 weekend for the Quakers (11-4, 2-0 Ivy League), which also included a 39-0 slaughtering of Columbia Friday. The Big Red, ranked No. 17 in the country, appeared on its way to an easy victory when it went up 15-3. Penn, unranked, then went on to win the last five matches. The winner was not actually determined until the last match of the competition, when Penn sophomore Joe Allen defeated EIWA-defending-champion Bruce Morgan 9-7 in the heavyweight division. "We knew we matched up well against them," Allen said. "We were really excited about the match. I'm glad I was able to come through." Allen's performance capped off a string of intense matches, with nearly every weight class keeping the fans on the edge of their seats. Tri-captain Gary Baker, seeded second in the EIWA, set the tone for the Quakers when he defeated Cornell's John Bove at 118 pounds. The 10-9 victory was especially rewarding for Baker because last year Bove, the top seed in the EIWA, defeated him to win the EIWA championship. "[Bove] always comes in and out of his stance," Baker said. "He makes lots of fakes. I tried to time his fakes and shoot in between. I was able to ride him out." After Baker's win, Penn lost four straight matches. The fourth being Gonz Medina's overtime loss to Joel Torretti at 150 pounds. The Quakers had lost any momentum that Baker had given them. At this point any Cornell win would basically end the Quakers' hopes for victory. Freshman Josh Bailer stopped the Big Red's run when he hung on for a narrow 4-3 victory over Mike Klinglesmith at 158 pounds. Penn again avoided defeat at 167 pounds when junior Roger London defeated Chip Foster 8-7 in overtime. Freshman Brandon Slay, in his first weekend of competition since being sidelined with a broken jaw, handily defeated Jason Sedler 11-6. London and Slay's matches were particularly important because both were wrestling up a weight class, a calculated risk by Penn coach Roger Reina which paid off. Tri-captain Brian Butler continued Penn's remarkable comeback with a 7-4 victory over Shane Cass. The win moved the Quakers into a 15-15 tie before Allen sealed the win for Penn. "We knew they hadn't lost an Ivy match in six years," Baker said. "But we weren't afraid. We went in there with the attitude that we could win. Every match was pivotal. We knew it was going to be a good battle." The victory puts the Quakers in a position to win their first Ivy championship since 1972. Reina feels next weekend's match at Brown is the toughest Ivy opponent remaining. With Cornell now behind it, Penn has a legitimate shot to end its 22-year title drought. The Quakers had three other matches this weekend besides Ivy foes Cornell and Columbia. Friday, Penn defeated Central Connecticut, 30-9, and Howard University, 41-7. Saturday, after the match with the Big Red, the Quakers were able to use their reserves and still defeat Seton Hall, 24-14.