Wrestling gets a EIWA wakeup call at Lehigh

Going into last weekend, the Penn wrestling team had only one more team to finish off before preparing for the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships. They planned to roll over Lehigh and head into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships with an eight-match winning streak. The Engineers, however, foiled the Quakers' plans Friday night at Grace Hall in Bethlehem, Pa., in the highly touted battle of state rivals. Penn, the No. 11 team in the country, actually split the 10 matches with No. 24-ranked Lehigh but lost the meet on points. Lehigh scored more points because all of the Quakers' victories came on decisions while Lehigh posted one major decision and two pins. One of these pins came in the first match of the day when Mike Sferra, the No. 4-ranked, 118-pound wrestler in the East, pinned Penn sophomore Courtney Grow. Grow was filling in for Ben Hatta who was suffering from back spasms. "He did not know until the last minute that he was going to wrestle," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "It was a tough start to the match and was bad for the team morale. Down 6-0, the Quakers would have to come from behind, and senior Steve Walker got the team rolling at 126 pounds. After falling behind 2-1 in the first period, Walker came back to record a 11-7 win. Penn, however, appeared in danger of falling further behind, when Sean O'Hara trailed 8-4 at the end of the first period and 8-7 at the end of the second. O'Hara, though, was able to win 16-11 and tie the meet score at six. "We kept getting off to slow starts and we struggled to win matches that we should have won more easily." Reina said. The match at the 142-division was the much anticipated rematch of last years EIWA championship in which Brett Matter defeated Chris Ayers. This years result was the same, as Matter, the No. 8-ranked wrestler in country, gave the Quakers their first lead of the day with a 3-1, hard-fought victory. At this point, Penn had a 9-6 lead and had appeared to recover from its slow start. However, the tide quickly turned at the 150- and 158-pound classes. First, Penn senior Paul Pscolka lost by a major decision, 20-8, to Marat Vigdorchik, the No. 4 wrestler in the East. A major decision occurs when a wrestler wins by eight or more points, and the result is four points for the team. In the most crucial match of the day, Penn senior tri-captain Josh Bailer lost to Troy Laudenslager. The score was tied late in the third period, and when Bailer attempted a counter attack he was sent to the floor and pinned. "This was a nine-point swing," Reina said. "We expected to win this match and get three points, but the pin resulted in six points for them." Although Penn was behind 16-9, they still were in the match because their two nationally-ranked captains were waiting to wrestle. Brandon Slay and Clinton Matter did not disappoint, both winning and closing the the Lehigh lead to one. Slay, ranked No. 7 in the 167-pound class won 14-9, and Matter, ranked No. 5 in the 177-pound division won 7-6. The Quakers were not able to take the lead again, though, and Lehigh took control at 190 pounds. Penn sent out freshman Mike Fickell to face the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the East John Leonardis. Although Fickell put up a good fight, the favorite Leonardis came out on top by a score of 6-3. This loss left the Quakers four points behind going into the final fight at heavyweight. They were in need of a major decision or a pin. However, Penn senior Joey Allen was facing the No. 12-ranked heavyweight wrestler in country, Bill Closson. Allen came out strong but was unable to pull off the upset and lost 10-8. This loss left the Quakers on the losing side of a 22-15 final score, even though they had won five of the ten matches. "We didn't wrestle the way we should have," Slay said. "This was a wake-up call and it came at a good time -- right before the EIWA Championships." At the EIWAs in two weeks, the Quakers will likely face Lehigh again, as the two teams are far-and-away the best in the tournament. Penn will also be at full strength for the championships with the return of Hatta and Andrei Rodzianko, who will compete against Fickell for the 190-pound position. Although the Quakers did lose the momentum that they had gained going into the EIWAs they are still confident about their chances. "We have not failed in any of our goals yet," Slay said. "Everything has been practice up until now and the team will be at full throttle for the EIWA Championships."