Wrestling-Lehigh features East's best

Freshman phenomsFreshman phenomsto meet at 142 pounds Although an Ivy League championship appears to be in the books, the challenges are just beginning for the Penn wrestling team. The Quakers, ranked No. 1 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, will host No. 4 Lehigh at the Palestra Saturday at 3 p.m. Getting Lehigh on the schedule has posed problems for the Quakers in recent years. But this rare clash between the two Eastern powers could not have come at a better time. The Mountain Hawks are the defending EIWA tournament champions and have been ranked as high as No. 17 in the nation this season. They presently rank fourth in the EIWA dual-meet rankings. "It's probably most important in the sense that it will have an impact on seedings [in the EIWA tourney]," Penn coach Roger Reina said. The key matchups will likely be in the lower weight classes. The 118-pound bout features the No. 3 and No. 4 wrestlers in the East -- Penn's Ben Hatta and Lehigh's Mike Sferra. Another marquee matchup pairs Quakers co-captain Brian Eveleth with EIWA No.1 Jason Kutz at 126 pounds. Eveleth will look to improve upon his 24-5 record, which includes five pins, and his No. 3 ranking. But perhaps the best wrestling of all will be at the 142-pound level. That match will feature two freshmen sensations -- redshirt Chris Ayers for Lehigh and true frosh Brett Matter for Penn. Matter has amassed a 23-2 record, best on the squad among wrestlers with at least 10 decisions, and is currently ranked second in the East. The only wrestler that stands between him and first is Ayers. The highly-touted wrestlers will not be limited to the light end of the spectrum. In all, there will be 13 ranked wrestlers competing in the dual-meet, including five No. 1's. One of those is Penn's Josh Bailer, a junior who wrestles at 167 pounds. Bailor sports a 17-8 record. Last year he placed fourth in the EIWA, missing a possible NCAA berth by a single match. "I like to stay intense in the neutral position and score a lot of take-downs," Bailer said. He and his teammates will hope to bring that intensity to the Palestra Saturday as they continue their preparation for the year-ending tournaments and defend their No. 1 rank in the East. "The most important issue is to take the lessons we've gotten and go one step forward," Reina said. If they perform to expectations, the Quakers may soon be on the giving end of those lessons.