Bailers & Butlers: Brothers in arms

Sure, you can talk to the coach, visit the campus, ask lots of questions and read the propaganda. But freshman wrestlers Dan Butler and Jeremy Bailer had another source of information about the Penn wrestling program -- their brothers are on the team. And senior co-captain Brian Butler and sophomore Josh Bailer are currently excelling with all-Ivy credentials. "It's a two-way street recruiting [brothers]," coach Roger Reina said. "By nature of recruiting the older brother, you have some kind of knowledge of what great families they came from. The character these parents instilled in them my staff and I felt was exemplary." All parties agree the two pairs of brothers share a strong work ethic and the will to win. However, there exists a different dynamic between the two sets of brothers. The Bailer brothers of Lake Hopatcong, N.J. epitomize the sibling rivalry. They have been wrestling each other almost since they were born and have never decided to stop. Although teammates now, the fire can still be ignited. "They constantly wrestled -- in the wrestling room, in the living room, in the pool, with their sister," said their mother, Nancy Bailer. "It's to see who's the best. It always has been." Josh, who wrestles in a slightly heavier weight class, did not hesitate to give his opinion. "Usually I beat him up pretty well," said Josh, a second team all-Ivy selection. "It's not much of a challenge." Jeremy, who was a high school All-American like his older brother, was more diplomatic in his assessment. "Basically, he's got an edge on the feet and I have an edge on the mat," he said in reference to the different starting positions on the wrestling mat. The Bailer brothers complement each other well. All agree that Josh can teach his younger brother a little bit about wrestling on his feet, while Jeremy can teach his older counterpart a couple of tricks about wrestling on the mat. "They have very different styles," said Reina, who often pits brother against brother in practice. "Together they can help each other turn their weakness into a strength." The coach said he would never place the two brothers in the position to face each other in a real match. So just how can they settle once and for all who is better? Ask the mother, of course. "They both have their strengths and weaknesses," she answered, perhaps wisely. Unlike the Bailers, a strong sibling rivalry never existed between the Butler brothers. Brian, who was ranked as high as 14th nationally at 190 pounds last year, has always been the superior wrestler. Dan, who is three years younger and wrestles at 158, has always been forced to live up to the expectations caused by his last name. "I think there's an underlying pressure," Dan said. "He was the captain on the high school team when I was there. It's always been there, so I've been accustomed to it. I just go with what I have to offer." The senior captain was afraid his shadow would follow his brother to Penn, but he was glad Dan's decision to join the Quakers was largely his own. Brian understands his success has put pressure on his brother. "There's pressure from a lot of people who don't know what's going on in wrestling," Brian said. "People who don't know what it takes and what you have to go through. This is the culmination of 15 years of work. I didn't get where I am from starting here. Everything he does in my eyes is icing on the cake as long as he tries his hardest." Despite the familial burden, Dan is happy his brother is around to "show him the ropes" and teach the Hobart, Ind. native about the East. "He tells me all the weird names you have for food, like pie for pizza," the freshman said. The accolades Brian has accumulated often obscure the fact the younger Butler is a top wrestler in his own right. In fact, Dan topped his older brother's high school record for wins. "He didn't have any trouble congratulating me on that," Dan said. Having family members on a team creates its own dynamic. Each year, Reina faces the problem of creating cohesion among athletes who have known each other for no more than a few years. The coach feels having brothers on the team helps in this endeavor. "We want to be a big family as a team," the coach said. "To have people who are true family members adds to the closeness."