SEASON PREVIEW: Wrestling looks to repeat Ivy title

Looking to win back-to-backLooking to win back-to-backIvy and EIWA titles, Penn isLooking to win back-to-backIvy and EIWA titles, Penn isranked in the nation's top 25. The Penn wrestling team finished 13-2 last year-- the best record in the school's history. This year, the Quakers are planning on finishing their season with an even better record. Penn finished the season with more than an excellent record, however. The Quakers were undefeated in the Ivy League and in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. The two losses were against Michigan and Cal State, both nationally ranked teams. The Quakers also sent seven out of 10 wrestlers to the NCAA individual championships and had nine wrestlers place in the EIWA championships. Despite all the success of last season, the Quakers want more from this year's team. "We're very excited going into this season," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "I think in a lot of ways it could be the best season in the history of the school, maybe in the Ivy League." Last year's team was so deep that only two wrestlers are not returning to continue what is fast becoming a wrestling powerhouse. One key returnee is junior Brandon Slay, who was sidelined last season with a stress fracture in his foot. Before Slay was injured, he was a two-time qualifier in the NCAAs. Slay is currently one of many Quakers who are nationally ranked, placing seventh in the 167-pound weight class. Slay is not the only NCAA ranked wrestler at Penn. Both his fellow co-captains seniors Josh Bailer and Clinton Matter, as well as junior Ben Hatta, senior Joey Allen and sophomore Brett Matter, are near the top of their classes. In the EIWA, Penn has four No. 1 ranked wrestlers and three other ranked wrestlers. As a team, the Quakers have also called attention to themselves with numerous team rankings. Besides being No. 1 in both the Ivy League and the EIWA, Penn is ranked No. 24 nationally by Amateur Wrestling News and No. 18 by Wrestling USA Magazine. "I'm very excited to start the season," Bailer said. "We have all but two starting wrestler returning from last year, and the guys who are stepping into those weights have already proven themselves as varsity wrestlers." This year's freshmen includes national prep champion Mike Gadsby; Tim Ortman, who received the outstanding wrestler award at three tournaments last season; Jonathan Gough, a Pennsylvania state titleholder; Mike Fickell, Central Ohio's Scholar-Athlete of The Year; and four-time district finalist James Brennan from New Jersey. The strength of the returning team and the potential of the incoming wrestlers gives Penn a good chance at a repeat and possibly a chance to outdo last year's achievements. "This year could be the best team that Penn has ever had," Slay said. "We have very lofty goals of placing in the top ten in the country. "Right now, however, we're just thinking positively and getting our weight under control in preparation for our first match against Iowa State."