Wrestlers eager to seize Ivy lead

Rivalries, rematches and revenge -- that's the theme as the Penn wrestlers begin the Ivy League portion of their dual meet schedule. Over a two-day trip across New York, the Quakers will embark on their quest to repeat as Ivy champions. But although he and his squad hope to win another league title, that is not the primary goal for Penn coach Roger Reina. While victories over league foes are satisfying, the Quakers are looking for bigger wins at the season-ending Eastern and NCAA Championships. "Because wrestling is primarily an individual sport," Reina said, "those tournaments at the end of the year are primarily what everybody goes toward. "The Ivy League meets are very important. There's great rivalry with these teams, and that will come out during the dual meets. That will further prepare our team for the intensity at the end of the season." That has been the idea behind Penn's schedule this year. The Quakers recently completed a string of several early-season tournaments featuring quality competition from across the country. "We've had the opportunity to wrestle competition from a lot of different conferences, a lot of different parts of the country," Reina said. "A lot of nationally-ranked opponents. So I'm very happy with how our scheduling has prepared the team to date." Which brings Penn to this weekend's road trip, when it will face two Ancient Eight rivals that are no doubt seeking revenge for losses to the Quakers last year. Penn's first stop is today at Columbia. The Lions were the victims of a 39-0 shutout at the hands of the Quakers last year. But the apparent blowout was deceptive -- seven of the 10 matches were decided by three points or fewer. "They're definitely not to be overlooked," Reina said. "They're a relatively hungry, up-and-coming program. They'll have a nothing-to-lose attitude, which can be dangerous." The most dangerous of the Lions is Nick Szerlip, who is currently ranked No. 1 by the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association and No. 10 in the nation in the 190-pound weight class. His opponent will be Penn senior Brian Butler, ranked No. 3 in the EIWA. It should be the featured match of the day, according to Reina. Szerlip and Butler have a bit of a rivalry going. They have met three times over the last two seasons, with Szerlip winning the last two, including a come-from-behind win earlier this year at the East Stroudsburg Open. Another rivalry will be renewed Saturday in Ithaca, when Penn hooks up with Cornell in a triangular meet also featuring Seton Hall. The Big Red hopes to avenge a bitter loss at the Palestra last year. Cornell had won seven straight Ivy titles and 42 consecutive league matches, but after falling behind 15-3, the Quakers came back to pull out a thrilling 18-15 victory. "I hope we don't have to go through that again," Reina said. They may have to. The key to a Penn victory lies in the lower weight classes, according to Reina. Specifically, he pointed to two of the team's captains -- senior Gary Baker (118 pounds) and junior Brian Eveleth (126). "We've got some key matches with them down low that are going to make the difference," Reina said. If things work out over the two days, Penn could improve its dual meet record to a nifty 8-2 and take a couple of steps toward a second straight Ivy crown. But what Reina is stressing is peaking at season's end.