Wrestling drops Ivy contenders

Brandon Slay's record-setting 97th win paces Penn to wins over Cornell and Columbia. After a rough stretch of season in which the Penn wrestling team faced most of the upper echelon teams in the nation, the Quakers had to switch gears Friday night at the Palestra. In the first part of the year, the 14th-ranked Quakers faced programs such as No. 2 Iowa and No. 1 Oklahoma State in huge tournaments, but Friday's match against Ivy rival Cornell marked the beginning of Penn's dual meet season. The Quakers' match against No. 20 Cornell was "critical," according to Penn coach Roger Reina. For the better part of a decade, the Big Red and the Quakers have been the dominant forces in the Ivy League. On the strength of Brandon Slay's record-setting win, Penn asserted itself Friday night as the Ivy pacesetter with a 22-15 victory. The match was nip and tuck throughout, with both teams losing and regaining the lead. Penn fell behind early, 12-7, after losses by Martine Apodaca (142 pounds) and Tim Ortman (150). An injury default against Rick Springman (158) and a Brandon Slay (167) victory gave the Quakers a 16-12 lead and put them up for good. With his victory, senior captain Slay tied Brian Butler's Penn wrestling record of 96 career victories. Slay felt Cornell gave Penn more trouble than it should have, but was happy with the win. "It was a big win for us," he said. "We didn't wrestle as well as we wanted to, but we got the 'W' and that's what the most important thing is. The Quakers hoped to make a more emphatic statement after facing such top-flite competition all year long. They did not mind, however, winning ugly, as long as they got the win. "Cornell is our toughest competition this year in the Ivy league, and to beat them right off the bat sets the stage," Slay said. "It helps your mindset going into the rest of the Ivy League duals to know that you took out the toughest team first." The win over No. 20 Cornell was not only important in terms of Ivy standings, but also should help in terms of Eastern and National rankings. Coming out with confidence against one of the few unranked teams they have faced, the Quakers handled Columbia easily, cruising to a 34-6 win. Penn's match against the Lionsfeatured only two lost bouts and was peppered with dominating performances. Steve Walker (126) and Springman had second and first period pins, respectively.. "We wanted to open it up a little bit [and] score some more points," Walker said. "We did for the most part, a little bit better than last night [against Cornell]." Slay's easy 18-3 victory gave him 97 victories in his Penn career, putting him ahead of Butler in the record books. Slay felt "great," but was quick to credit the help of his coaches and teammates. "I'm really proud to do it for myself and for Penn wrestling," Slay said. "I've had some exceptional coaching [and] some great workout partners that have allowed me to do that. Although Slay was happy to put his name in the annals of Penn wrestling history, he hated having to unseat Brian Butler. "[Butler] was one of my best buddies," Slay said. "He was a guy that was a big part of recruiting me when I came here.It's always tough to look at the guys you beat." Reina considers Slay one in a long line of Penn wrestling champions. "I remember the day when Butler set that record, and Adam Green before him, and I look forward to the younger guys who will someday eclipse him," Reina said. "But today, this is Brandon's day, and I was happy to see him reach that milestone." The Quakers finished the weekend off with a Saturday night match at Drexel. Penn capped off the two days of competition with another solid victory, 26-9. The overmatched Dragons did manage some impressive wins, including upsets over Walker, who leads Penn with 18 wins this season, and Slay. "We gave up a couple of stupid losses," Penn assistant coach Richard Hines said. "Slay got beat with 15 seconds left and Walker didn't have his head in the match like he should have." The weekend brought Penn three victories in two days and an individual milestone. But the Quakers were not exactly satisfied. The Quakers did live up to the pressure of being the favored team in the Ivy League over the weekend, getting off to a 2-0 Ivy start. But Hines said the team feels it "under-performed," and needs to bring its level of competition up a notch to truly dominate both the Ivies and the East

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