Wrestling looking for Easterns title

It's finally here. After a long, but tremendously successful dual-meet season, championship season has arrived. This weekend, Penn will travel to Syracuse, N.Y., to compete in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championship tournament. At stake is more than just bragging rights within the wrestling association, which is comprised of 14 universities in the Northeast. The results of this weekend's meet will determine which wrestlers will compete in the NCAA championships, to be held in Minneapolis on March 21-23. The top two finishers in each weight class at Easterns are guaranteed places in the NCAA field. But an impressive performance by a lower finisher could garner him a one of the wild-card spots, which are voted on by the coaches. The EIWA tourney utilizes a double-elimination format. The Eastern competition has not always been kind to the Quakers. Last year, Penn (13-2) came into the weekend ranked 25th in the nation, but finished just fifth overall. Expectations will be high again this season, as a 10-0 EIWA dual-meet record has lifted the squad to the No. 1 ranking in East. With five wrestlers ranked first in the East in their weight class, the Quakers are hoping to bring more team members than last year's three to the national meet. Of last year's three qualifiers, only Brandon Slay, who wrestles at 167 pounds returns this years. Slay, however, had a season-ending foot injury at the Midlands Invitational in late December and will not be able to go for a second NCAA appearance. Perhaps the most exciting young prospect for the Quakers is freshman Brett Matter, who has amassed a 28-2 record. He is currently ranked 12th in the nation in the 142-pound class. One Quaker on a mission is Joey Allen, who has an undefeated record, but has missed much the early part of the season while he was playing football. "I figure -- put it in perspective," the senior heavyweight said after Penn's last dual-meet, a 29-4 victory over Drexel. "Coming into the season halfway through, I caught a lot of ribbing [from my teammates]. I'm sure I would have taken some lumps." In previous years, Penn has brought young, inexperienced wrestlers to the EIWA meet. That situation will change this year, as wrestlers such as Josh Bailer, Brian Eveleth and Clinton Matter draw on last year's experience, when the meet was at Navy. "It's definitely a confidence booster to have been to Easterns and placed, but that's not going to win you matches," said Josh Bailer earlier in the year. It's been a long year for the undefeated Ivy League champions, as they have awaited a chance to wrestle in the spotlight. Despite all of their accomplishments in the regular dual-meet season, for head coach Roger Reina's team success in the sport comes down to winning the big matches. They do not get any bigger than the NCAA qualifiers.