WRESTLING: Wrestling captures Ivy title

Princeton did not evenPrinceton did not evenenter four of 10 weightPrinceton did not evenenter four of 10 weightclasses as Penn took itsPrinceton did not evenenter four of 10 weightclasses as Penn took itssecond title in 3 years It's official. The Penn wrestling team clinched its second Ivy League championship in three years Saturday at Franklin and Marshall College in Lanchester, dominating Princeton, 32-0. The Quakers (12-2, 5-0 Ivy League) won six matches by major decision, pin or injury default. The Tigers did not have wrestlers in the other four weight classes. Princeton's wrestling program was just reinstated this year after a one-year hiatus. The Tigers are in a rebuilding stage and are positioned at the bottom of the Ivy League. Freshman Brett Matter, who raised his overall record to a team-best 25-2, pinned Princeton's Matt Reber at 2:49. Matter, who finishes the season 5-0 in Ivy matches, has established himself as the clear favorite to win Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors. Penn wrestled two other matches Saturday after defeating Princeton. The Red and the Blue pounded host Franklin and Marshall 46-6 and came away with a solid win against East Stroudsburg, 27-9. "East Stroudsburg is a tough team and it's always a great win," said Josh Bailer (167 pounds), who went 3-0 on the day. "But this year our focus is more towards the Easterns, and East Stroudsburg was more preparatory for the Eastern tournament." After losing two matches early in the year to Cal State-Bakersfield and Michigan, both of which are ranked in the Top 15 in the nation, the Quakers have now won 11 straight dual meets. "We're always learning from our mistakes," sophomore Ben Hata (118 pounds) said. "We're always learning from each match." The Quakers' hot streak has earned them a No. 1 ranking in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. And now that Penn has the Ivy Crown in hand, its focus turns towards the long awaited EIWA Championships. After wrestling Drexel at the Palestra Thursday, the Quakers will continue to increase the intensity of their workouts in preparation for the EIWAs, which will take place in Syracuse, N.Y., on March 8 and 9. The top two finishers in each weight class at Easterns qualify for the NCAA Championships, as do six additional wild card third- or fourth-place finishers who are chosen by the coaches. "Our goal is to qualify 10 out of 10," Hata said. "We want to take the whole team out there to nationals. It is a realistic goal for us." "We've had a lot of our tougher matches recently against Cornell, Lehigh, and Brown," Bailer said. "We've wrestled really well against all of those teams, and I think right now we are peaking at the best time." If the Quakers can succeed in qualifying seven or eight wrestlers for the NCAAs, they will be in a great position to earn an EIWA championship to add to the Ivy League title they can finally claim as their own.

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