Trio of teams to visit busy Wrestling

Only one thing can explain the Penn wrestling team's mediocre 2-5 dual meet record -- bonus points. Bonus points -- which only affect dual meets -- are unique to the sport of wrestling. They result from a scoring rule that rewards a wrestler for convincingly defeating his opponent. Thus, a team is given anywhere between three and six points when one of its wrestlers decisively wins his match. Unfortunately for the Quakers, three-point decisions seem to be all that they can get. On Wednesday, the Quakers lost to No. 20 Penn State, 22-16, in Happy Valley, Pa. It was the third time this season that Penn has evenly split the 10 weight classes with its opponents, but ended up losing because of bonus points. The Red and Blue suffered similar losses to No. 23 Indiana and No. 26 Cornell. The Hoosiers and Big Red won by scores of 21-17 and 16-15, respectively. The Quakers will be looking for a reversal of fortune this weekend, when they host Harvard in dual-meet action tomorrow before welcoming Brown and George Mason for a tri-meet on Sunday. The first of Penn's (2-5, 1-1- Ivy League) three opponents this weekend will be Harvard (1-4, 0-0). All four of the Crimson's losses have come at the hands of top-10 teams. Harvard -- a fairly strong team across all weight classes -- will present a decent challenge to the Quakers. The Crimson are led by 184-pound senior Francis Volpe. Volpe -- ranked 10th in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News -- will be key if Harvard is to have a shot at the Quakers. Also receiving national attention is No. 19 Jesse Jantzen, who wrestles at the 149-pound slot for the Crimson. The Harvard freshman will present a significant challenge to Penn's Joe Henson, who is one spot below Jantzen in the national rankings. Other standouts for Harvard include sophomore 165-pounder Patrick O'Donnell -- who defeated 2000 NCAA runner-up Joe Heskett of Iowa State earlier this season -- and heavyweight junior David Rechul -- who is currently atop the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association's heavyweight division. Penn freshman Mike Faust, who will wrestle Rechul tomorrow, knows the implications his match can have. "Harvard's going to be a big match, because if we beat them, and they beat Cornell, we'll have a share of the title," Faust said. "For us to [beat Harvard], I feel like I have to go out there and beat [Rechul]. The fact that he's number one in the EIWA is important, but it's more important to get a win for the team." Faust's match against Brown's Bronson Lingamfelter on Sunday will also have huge implications. When the two heavyweights met in the semifinals of the 2000 Keystone Classic earlier this season, Faust pulled out a 2-1 victory in overtime. Lingamfelter, the EIWA's fourth-ranked wrestler, will certainly be looking to redeem himself in his return to the Palestra. From Penn's perspective, Brown (7-5, 0-0) and George Mason (6-0, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association) are beatable teams. Besides Lingamfelter, the Bears' only other standout wrestler is freshman Clinton Hicks, who is currently second in the EIWA at 125 pounds -- behind Penn's Mason Lenhard. Lenhard welcomes the challenge with confidence. "I'm really positive and not really concerned," Lenhard said. "I know what I can do, and I don't really see a problem with [Hicks]." The Red and Blue's Parma, Ohio, native will also be challenged by the Patriots' representative at 125 pounds -- sixth-year senior Sean Shea. Shea -- whose eligibility has been extended due to two season-long injuries over the course of his college wrestling career -- was an AWN freshman All-American selection and 1996 CAA Rookie of the Year. The Patriots' other dominant wrestler is No. 5 Donnie DeFillipis at 141. DeFillipis placed second at the Midlands Open earlier this season. Reina only has three things on his mind for this busy weekend. "I'm concerned about 100 percent focus, 100 percent intensity and 100 percent trust from 100 percent of our team," he said. With all his preseason projected starters wrestling together for the first time this season, Reina may get just that.

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