Wrestling pins national ranking

Penn coach Roger Reina has revamped the wrestling program and brought it national respect since taking over for Larry Lauchle before the 1986-87 season. Being a college wrestler was tough, but as Penn wrestling coach Roger Reina learned, being the youngest Division I wrestling coach in the country is equally challenging. Reina, only three years removed from college when he accepted the position in 1986, answered the challenge by reviving a program that won just two Ivy League matches between 1983 and 1986. After wrestling at Penn from 1980-84 and being an assistant coach for two more years, Reina was charged with filling the shoes of Larry Lauchle, an NCAA titlist and a two-time Olympian. Despite the challenge of replacing Lauchle, Reina remained unphased and committed himself to bringing prestige back to Penn wrestling, which was a dominant force in both the Ivy League and the East in the late 60's and early 70's. "[Taking over and rebuilding] didn't seem daunting at the time," said Reina, the former American history major and wrestling team captain at Penn. "I was excited about the opportunity to coach at my alma mater." One of Reina's primary concerns after taking over in 1986 was to deal with what he felt was a "de-emphasis on wrestling" on the part of the athletic administration. "Lauchle came into a strong program," Reina said. "But decisions were made to de-emphasize the department's support. "[Also] the alumni hadn't been mobilized, and they weren't lending a lot of support themselves." Without much external support just before and into the beginning of Reina's reign, a team emphasis was hard to achieve. A handful of wrestlers achieved individual success, but the program as a whole struggled. But Reina felt sure he could buck the trend. "I was confident we could increase the support through the alumni," Reina said. "And Pennsylvania is a hotbed of high school talent, [so we could] improve recruiting." But Reina's plan took time. In his first season as head coach, 1986-87, the Quakers accumulated a 6-14 record and finished last in the Ivy League, with an 0-6 conference record. The next year, however, things began to look up for Penn, as the team finished with a winning record of 10-8. After a 10-8-1 season in 1988-89, Penn notched a 17-5-1 record and finished third in the Ivies. The turnaround was underway. The Athletic Department became more supportive of Penn wrestling, according to Reina, but the team still needed alumni support to branch out into national competition. Reina found great success in rallying alumni support. In fact, over the last two years, wrestling donations by alumni are second only to football. The increased funding and improved results fed off each other. With the means available to compete against better competition, the wrestlers gained valuable experience and parlayed that into victories. Those improved results in turn got more people interested in Penn wrestling, thereby upping support. By the early '90s, Penn was no longer the Ivy cellar-dweller, finishing third in 1991-92 and going undefeated in 1993-94 to win the conference. The past five years have seen Penn take enormous strides in establishing itself as a national presence. The Quakers made quick progress -- first in the East, with fifth place finishes in 1992-93 and 1994-95 and a second place finish in 1993-94 at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships. Penn finally cracked the national rankings in 1994-95, ending up 48th at the NCAA Championships. Continuing their steady improvement, the Quakers finished 33rd in 1995-96 and 23rd last year. Assistant coach Richard Hines wrestled at Penn under Reina from 1990-95, and has seen drastic improvement in his time. He credits both great recruiting classes and old-fashioned hard work for the rise to national prominence. "[It was] a lot of hard work, a lot of time, people just believing in the goals that we've set," Hines said. "As you do better for the season, the next season you get better recruits, so it kind of builds on itself." The leap from regional to national competition was not an easy one to take for the Quakers. "Around the country, people see Ivy League and they just think we're a bunch of eggheads," said senior captain Mark Piotrowsky, who as a freshman saw his team finish sixth at the EIWAs and last year was a part of the EIWA champion squad. "They don't understand that we can wrestle, too." Assistant coach Brian Dolph, who joined Penn four years ago after a successful wrestling career at Indiana University, cites individual attention as one reason for the success. "We've really developed a lot of personal attention to each of the wrestlers," Dolph said. "We devote a lot of time to helping the individuals excel within their own capabilities." Piotrowsky said of Dolph, "Everything he shows us works." Whatever the reason for Penn's marked improvement, it has certainly come a long way from Reina's first year and the 0-6 Ivy record. Right now, the Quakers are reaching unprecedented heights. Ranked No. 12 in the country and poised to make a splash at the National Dual Meets and the NCAA Championships, only time will tell how far the Quakers will move up in the national scene.

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