WRESTLING SEASON REVIEW: Reina continues to improve Wrestling

Penn wrestling, a consistent winner under the tutelage of coach Roger Reina, had another season of sustained excellence en route to a 14-3 dual-meet record and a national ranking. The most crushing defeat in the regular season, a 21-11 midseason loss to Cornell, cost the Quakers the chance to repeat as Ivy League champions. Penn swept its four other Ivy League foes and cruised to an 8-1 mark in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. "We had one flaw all season, and that cost us the Ivy title and higher national recognition," senior co-captain Gary Baker said. After the loss to the Big Red -- the eventual Ivy League champions -- Penn racked up eight consecutive victories, earning the Quakers a No. 25 ranking in the National Coaches Association poll. In the midst of the winning streak came Penn's victory over Brown, a memorable 16-15 thriller. The Quakers came back from a five-point deficit to defeat the Bears, who entered the dual meet ranked No. 1 in the EIWA. "We had a really strong team," Baker said. "We were mentally tough and physically tough. We stuck together and that held us through the bad times. After losing to Cornell, we came back and beat Brown." Senior co-captain Brian Butler, who defeated nationally-ranked Paul Fitzpatrick, and junior Joey Allen keyed the comeback victory over Brown and gave the Quakers hope for a share of the Ivy championship. But after Cornell's subsequent victory over the Bears, Penn knew it would have to settle for a second-place finish in the Ivy League. The season also marked individual milestones for Reina and Butler. The coach recorded his 100th coaching victory in the Quakers' 29-9 thumping of Northern Iowa, and Butler became Penn's career-win leader in a 12-4 triumph against Harvard's Dan Vandermyde. "When I came to Penn, my goal was to be the best wrestler Penn had ever had," Butler said. "Getting the record gives me a claim to being one of the best coming to Penn." Butler entered the Eastern championships ranked No. 1 in the EIWA at 190 pounds and was extremely disappointed with his fifth-place performance. His performance mirrored the rest of the team, as the Quakers placed fifth in Easterns. Although the Quakers improved upon last season's sixth-place Easterns finish, Penn felt it could have placed higher based on its regular season efforts. Three Quakers qualified for the NCAAs at the Easterns: Baker, senior Gonz Medina and sophomore Brandon Slay. However, the trio had trouble against the nation's best -- Medina recorded Penn's sole victory. With the graduation of the seniors -- Medina, Baker and Butler -- Penn will look to first-team Ivy selections Slay and Allen to lead the Quakers to further glory. Baker, for one, knows he might graduate from Penn, but his experience as a Quaker will remain with him. "It's been the most important thing at college for me," Baker said. "Through wrestling, I learned a lot about life, about succeeding, and about being a good person."