No. 12 Wrestling gets two more wins

The Quakers continue to rack up wins in preparation for the Eastern and National championship tournaments. The 12th-ranked Penn men's wrestling team glided to victory this weekend at Bloomsburg, Pa. -- simply outclassing the opposition in raising its record to 9-2-1. The Quakers defeated Bloomsburg by the score of 30-6 and Seton Hall 37-6 in a Red and Blue Valentine's Day Massacre. While Penn expected inferior competition this past weekend, the team did not take the competition lightly. However, the Quakers did shift their roster around, giving younger and less-experienced wrestlers a chance to see action. Tim Ortman, Mike Gadsby, William Shambly and Kenyatta Grant-Lawrence all saw varsity action. While this could have been a risky move on a shallower team, Penn was deep enough to go with their bench. The Quakers also used this meet as an opportunity to teach fellow Pennsylvanians how Penn wrestles. "We wanted central Pennsylvania to know what east coast Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania had to offer wrestling-wise," Penn junior Ben Hatta said. "Central Pennsylvania is a hotbed for wrestling and we wanted to go out and dominate and show Pennsylvania what we are about." Penn did just that, winning all but two of their matches against both the Huskies and the Pirates. Seniors Steve Walker and Grant-Lawrence along with freshmen Fickell and Ortman were the only four Penn wrestlers to lose. None of the Penn losses resulted in anything but the minimum amount of points for Penn's opponents. Walker lost to Bloomsburg's Brett Tullo 5-3 in a close match. Tullo is ranked No. 7 in the nation at the 126 pounds. Fickell, who has been wrestling at 177 pounds, replacing sophomore Andrei Radzianko, who is recovering from an injury earlier this season, was subdued by Seton Hall's Kesner DeFresne 14-9 in another close match. "We totally dominated and the matches we lost were very, very close," Hatta said. With the wrestling season coming to a close, Penn used the weekend at Bloomsburg to concentrate on preparing themselves for their next, more important competition, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships. "We had a plan going in last weekend to dominate because these two teams weren't as tough as teams that we've been wrestling in the past few weeks," Hatta said. "Now we are concentrating on the next three meets." Next week the Quakers face Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa., in one of their bigger dual meets of the season. After facing the Engineers, Penn looks toward the EIWAs and Nationals. "Lehigh is a big match. We hope to use it to build up some momentum going into Easterns," Matter said. The Quakers have accomplished one of the goals they set for themselves this season -- to win the Ivies for the second year in a row. Now, they are preparing to conquer their next one, repeat at EIWAs as well. "I think we wrestled well and with intensity and I think we accomplished some of the technical goals that coach set out for us this weekend," Penn tri-captain Clinton Matter said. This season has been a season of building an already strong program. Ranked No. 23 in the preseason, the Quakers have risen to the No. 12 spot this season. On their route to a repeat Ivy League championship, the Red and Blue beat a strong Cornell team. In non-league action, Penn has been impressive both as a team and individually. The most important confrontation of the season took place at Lincoln, Neb., when the Quakers tied with the then-No. 3 team, Iowa. Individually, two of the three captains are currently ranked in the top 10. Brandon Slay is ranked seventh at 167 pounds. Matter is ranked fifth at 177 pounds. Brett Matter, Clinton's younger brother, is currently the No. 8 wrestler at 142 pounds. The recent rise in rankings have left the Quakers right where they want to be. "We have Lehigh, EIWAs and Nationals? The whole season is coming down to one package," Penn tri-captain Slay said. "It's time to open up that package." Penn has to continue to do what they've been doing all season -- setting goals, whether small or large, and accomplishing them. At this point in the season, the goals have narrowed themselves down and the stakes are a little higher. In the words of Brandon Slay it is "time to tear that package open."