Wrestlers loss at Cornell dims Ivy hopes

The Penn wrestling team began and ended their weekend with a win. But it was the Quakers' loss in between that gave a sour taste to what otherwise would have been a successful road trip. Saturday in Ithaca, Penn suffered a 21-11 defeat at the hands of Cornell. It was a crucial loss for the Quakers in terms of the Ivy League standings, but coach Roger Reina was more concerned with his team's effort. "I was very disappointed in the loss to Cornell," Reina said. "Cornell competed harder than we did. They appeared to be the hungrier team. That was the big difference in the meet." Penn got behind early and never recovered. In his first match back from a sprained knee, senior co-captain Gary Baker lost a 3-2 decision in the first match of the meet. "The momentum right from the start went in Cornell's favor," Reina said. Two more Big Red victories put Cornell ahead, 9-0. And the Big Red still led when the critical match of the meet occurred. Quakers' sophomore Josh Bailer lost a 7-2 decision at 158 pounds to Trip Rodgers, whom Bailer had defeated earlier in the year at East Stroudsburg. "We could have put a stop to their momentum," Reina said. Instead, "Momentum continued to build in their favor." The win put Cornell up 15-3 with four matches left. That was the exact score in last year's meet before Penn came back to win 18-15 and end the Big Red's 42-match Ivy win streak. To execute a similar comeback Saturday, the Quakers needed to sweep the last four matches with at least one major decision. But Penn could not pull off another miracle. Sophomore Brandon Slay kept the team alive with a decision at 167, but junior Clinton Matter fell to Carlos Eason at 177, and the Quakers' hopes were dead. Although the loss was painful for Penn, the team had only 15 minutes to collect itself and focus its energy on Seton Hall, the other opponent in the triangular meet. The Quakers fell behind again and trailed 15-9 after seven matches. But three straight wins by Matter, senior Brian Butler (190) and junior Joey Allen (heavyweight) allowed Penn to escape with a 19-15 victory. Reina was proud of the Quakers' ability to rebound with a win so soon after a bitter defeat. "Any team is going to face several gut check situations over a season," Reina said. "This weekend, and in particular the Seton Hall meet, was a big gut check, and they showed character in that." Penn's performance in Ithaca, combined with a 23-12 victory at Columbia the day before, gives the team a 7-3 record in dual meets, with a 1-1 mark in the Ivy League. The best the Quakers can hope for now is a tie for first place in the league, and even that will require some help. But Reina is still confident of his team's abilities. "Our team is going to demonstrate what they are capable of throughout the rest of the season," Reina said. "Quite honestly, I think we're not only capable of beating Cornell, but I think we're a better team, and I think that will come out over the course of the year." Unfortunately for Penn, it didn't come out on Saturday.