Wrestling's seniors pin No. 18 Lehigh

The Quakers 25-13 win was fueled by Steve Walker and Brandon Slay, who both won their final home match. Questions aplenty were floating around the Palestra yesterday as No. 18 Lehigh took on the 15th-ranked Quakers. Would the Quakers avenge their disappointing loss at bitter conference-rival Lehigh from one year ago? And could Penn establish itself as the dominant team in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA)? With a decisive 25-13 victory, the Quakers not only answered those questions, they rolled them up into a ball, threw it on the ground and stomped on it. The match was never really in doubt after freshman Justin Bravo (118 pounds) won a major decision victory in the first bout to put Penn up 4-0. The early start was "very important" for the Quakers, according to Bravo. "It got the juices flowing for the team," Bravo said. "It definitely helped. Everybody likes to see their teammates win, it pumps you up." After Bravo's win, senior Steve Walker (126) overwhelmed Lehigh's James Hamfeldt, pinning him in just 44 seconds. For Walker, the victory was twice as nice, as this was the senior's last home competition. The next wrestler to compete, junior captain Mark Piotrowsky (134), won convincingly 7-1 to put the Quakers up 13-0. Piotrowsky's win was somewhat of an upset considering he is No. 18 nationally and No. 3 in the EIWA, while Lehigh's Dave Esposito is ranked ninth in the nation and first in the EIWA. The win, in addition to piling on the points against the Boys from Bethlehem, will help Piotrowsky move up in the national and regional rankings. The Engineers came back with two straight victories at 142 and 150 to pull within seven points. But that was the closest the match would get. "[Getting out to an early lead] was definitely key because a lot of their strength lies in their upper weights," Piotrowsky said. In the closest bout of the day, Penn freshman Rick Springman faced Lehigh's Travis Doto, an EIWA finalist last year, in the 158-pound weight class. Springman and Doto were ranked three and four, respectively, in the EIWA. The two traded takedowns in the first period, but a reversal at the buzzer by Doto gave him the lead, 4-3, going into the second. Springman, who was bothered with a bloody nose all match, scored on a takedown after a stalling call, giving him the lead 6-5 with 19 seconds remaining in the third period. Springman then literally held on for the victory, as he contained Doto's attempts to escape. Springman's win came at a crucial point in the match for the Red and Blue. If he lost, the Quakers would have only led 13-9 with four bouts remaining. Instead, the Quakers went up 16-6 and never looked back. Additionally, it roused the large crowd at the Palestra and got the Penn fans into the match. "That clearly was a swing bout," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "Rick overextended himself a little bit at the end of the first period to give up two points, but I thought he showed a lot of determination and mental toughness to come back and win that match." Senior captain Brandon Slay (167) took the mats next, and after two low-scoring periods, the All-Ivy pinned Mark Dufresne 22 seconds into the third period. Slay, like Walker, also ended his Palestra competition with a pin. In fact, every Penn senior to wrestle yesterday won by pin -- Walker and Slay at varsity and Tim Rice and Rob Boyle at JV. "It was an extremely good way to go out," said Slay, whose career record now stands at 102-24. Lehigh won two of the last three matches to make the final score 25-13, but by the final bout the Engineers were already mathematically out of competition. For Penn, the large number of fans in attendance at their last home dual meet was a major advantage. "It's always fun for us in front of the home crowd --Ethat's why I love this place," Penn junior captain Andrei Rodzianko said. But Rodzianko also said Penn never really doubted its chances coming into the match. "We pretty much decided beforehand that we were going to come in here and win," Rodzianko said. "We came in fully confident that we were going to blow them over and that's what we did." Penn's victory not only solidifies its standing as the top dog in the EIWA, but also helps move the six individuals who won yesterday up the seeding ladder for the EIWA Tournament, which will be held at Lehigh March 6-7.

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