Wrestling hopes for Big Red redemption

"I don't plan on losing." Senior Brett Matter said it; senior Mark Piotrowsky said it; sophomores Yoshi Nakamura and Rick Springman and senior Bandele Adeniyi-Bada said it. And tomorrow in the Ivy League Kickoff Classic at Cornell, the Penn wrestlers are out to prove their mantra correct. "We're definitely going into this meet to win this year," Springman, the '97-'98 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, said. "We're so much more prepared going into the season this year than last year." Last year Penn finished only second in the Kickoff Classic, 18.5 points behind Cornell. The Quakers beat the Big Red the other two times the schools wrestled last year, but the opening loss still stings. "There's definitely a rivalry between Cornell's program and ours," Adeniyi-Bada said. The senior heavyweight is the lone returning victor from this tournament. Adeniyi-Bada is looking for back-to-back titles, but Seth Charles from Cornell, ranked first in the EIWA, stands in his way. "He's the only guy who's beaten me in the Ivy League," Adeniyi-Bada said. "Other people might call him a rival, but I wouldn't. He's just someone I have to beat to get where I want to. I've got to set any personal stuff aside and go at him." The Quakers, who should see their toughest team competition come from Cornell and Harvard, could see as many as seven wrestlers claim individual titles tomorrow. Among that group are tri-captains Matter, Piotrowsky and Andrei Rodzianko. Piotrowsky will have his hands full, however, as he must get past Harvard's Dustin DeNunzio. The Crimson senior beat him all four times they wrestled last year, including at the Kickoff Classic. "I've seen him and he's seen me wrestle so many times," Piotrowsky said, "that there will be no surprises." Look for plenty of surprises in other matches on the mats of Cornell's Teagle Hall, though, as the restructuring of weight classes for this year has left many wrestlers unsure of exactly who their opponents will be. "I really don't know who will be in my weight class on Saturday," Springman said. "I know Joey Killar from Harvard will be around my weight. If he's in my class, he'll be one of my top competitors. Otherwise, I have no idea who I'll be against." Sophomores Nakamura and Justin Bravo are more sure of who they have to beat on Saturday. Nakamura, whose top opponent will be Cornell's John Fogarty, is approaching this meet with a lot more confidence than he did last year. "I was a little timid in this meet last year," Nakamura said, "being just a freshman coming from high school to a big Division I school." Bravo, meanwhile, needs to get by Cornell's Aaron Taylor and Brown's Pete Poretta to claim a title. Although this meet is far from being the most important of the year, Bravo is not taking it lightly. "I don't like to over look anything," Bravo said. "Especially this tournament, because there are people here I've lost to. I'm in no position to just overlook people." Penn coach Roger Reina agrees: "We'll learn a lot coming out of this weekend about both our strengths and weaknesses. We know a lot of other teams are hungry to prove that they can beat us, but the ultimate goal is to maximize performance and let our wrestling speak for itself." As for the format of Saturday's meet, 16 wrestlers will compete in each of the 10 weight classes. Since only six Ivy schools have varsity programs -- Yale and Dartmouth don't -- Penn will enter up to three wrestlers in each class. And when the total points are added up, the Quakers are favored to come out on top. "Winning this Ivy League title is a goal," Adeniyi-Bada said. "But it's also a stepping stone for other goals we have." Still, the Quakers don't plan on losing.

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