Wrestlers ready to defend Palestra

With the Ivy League title won, and two easy matches scheduled for tomorrow, the mood of the Penn wrestling team has been loose and carefree, right? Not even close. The Quakers (16-5) will use tomorrow's matches against Wilkes and Coppin State (1 p.m., Palestra) as the last opportunity to fine tune their skills before Easterns, which begin next week. Penn coach Roger Reina said this has been one of the toughest, most intense weeks of practice all year. Last weekend the Quakers defeated Princeton, 28-11, to cap off a perfect 5-0 Ivy League record, Penn's first Ivy championship in 22 years. The Quakers also beat Franklin & Marshall, 32-15, then finished the weekend by losing 25-12 to East Stroudsburg. Reina felt Penn should have beaten East Stroudsburg, but the team lost its concentration and failed to execute. This week in practice, he made it very clear there could be no more mental breakdowns. "We worked very hard this week to get our focus back as a team," Reina said. "Our goals go beyond winning the Ivy League. The most important aspect of our season is still ahead of us." This aspect is Easterns. Easterns not only determines the EIWA team champion, but it is also the qualifying tournament for nationals. The Quakers are hopeful they can send a handful of representatives to nationals, and then make some noise. The Quakers are looking for a sweep tomorrow, which would give them 18 wins. The school record of 17 was set in 1989. Wilkes should provide some competition for the Quakers, but Coppin State does not have a competitive wrestling program, and Penn will use its reserves against the Eagles. Wilkes coach John Reese, who earlier this season recorded his 500th career win, is the winningest active coach in Division I. The Colonels (10-12), however, have struggled this season. They are coming off a 19-16 loss to Hofstra. Last season, the Quakers lost to Wilkes, 19-18. The two key matchups will be at 142 pounds, where Penn captain Shawn Heinrichs will square off against Barry Van Scoton (ranked sixth in the EIWA), and in the heavyweight division where Quaker sophomore Joe Allen will face Heath Fleisher. Heinrichs will make his return this week after sitting out because of the flu. Gonz Medina, who wrestles at 150 pounds, also sat out last weekend with the flu, but will be back. "Last year we looked past [Wilkes]," Penn captain Gary Baker said. "We know that Easterns is where it counts, but we're really excited about this weekend. We worked hard all week in practice, especially on counterattacking and single-leg defenses. We really want to take it too Wilkes. This is our final primer before Easterns, and its important for us to wrestle well."