The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

Penn 125-pounder Mason Lenhard went 2-0 on the weekend. He won by technical fall against Brown and by decision against George Mason. (Alyssa Cwanger/The Daily Pennsylvanian)

After three months of what some Penn faithful consider to be sub-par performances from the Penn wrestling team, the Quakers are finally re-emerging as a team that deserves national attention. Last weekend, the Quakers defeated three hapless teams in Harvard, Brown and George Mason. The victories keep Penn's hopes alive of winning its sixth straight Ivy League title. The first of Penn's (5-5, 3-1 Ivy League) victims was Harvard (2-5, 0-1), which visited the Palestra on Saturday. The Crimson managed to win only three bouts in their 25-11 loss to the Quakers. The tone of the dual meet was set by the first bout, which featured Penn freshman Mike Faust against Harvard junior Dawid Rechul. Rechul -- who entered the bout atop the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association's heavyweight division -- did not look his best against the smaller and lighter Faust. At the end of regulation, the score between the two heavyweights stood at 3-3. After a scoreless one-minute overtime period, Faust -- who won the coin toss -- elected to take the bottom position. The Baltimore, Md., native's struggle against Rechul was reminiscent of Faust's battle with Brown grappler Bronson Lingamfelter in the 2000 Keystone Classic. With the entire crowd behind him, Faust was able to roll out of Rechul's leg lock. He then scored a reversal at the buzzer, giving him the 5-3 upset. Faust's victory put his team on the right track to victory on Saturday. "I knew coming out first, that [my bout would] set the tone for the match," Faust said. "I just wanted to do well, and I did." Harvard coach Jay Weiss was disappointed with his team's performance. "Penn was tougher today and took it to us," Weiss said. "If you talk to any coach that only wins three bouts out of 10, I think 100 percent are going to tell you they're unsatisfied." Interestingly enough, the meet against the Crimson was Penn's poorest effort of the weekend. Neither Brown nor George Mason -- Penn's guests at the Palestra yesterday -- managed to win three bouts. The Quakers picked up eight falls and two technical falls en route to beating the Bears and the Patriots by scores of 47-3 and 36-7, respectively. Against Brown (8-7, 0-2), the Quakers opened up with four straight pins. The Bears never recovered from the 24-0 deficit, winning only one bout against Penn. Penn coach Roger Reina was very positive about his team's performance. "I think they found their confidence," Reina said. "So much of the success in the sport of collegiate wrestling comes down to mental preparation, and I think we really turned a corner this weekend." Brown's lone bright spot against the Quakers was Lingamfelter, who avenged his 2-1 overtime loss to Faust earlier this season with a convincing 8-3 decision. George Mason (6-2, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association) also had little success against Penn. The top-ranked team in the CAA managed to win just two bouts against the Quakers. Two of Penn's eight falls yesterday were registered by Yoshi Nakamura. The junior co-captain -- ranked third in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News at 157 -- remains undefeated overall (18-0) and in dual meets (8-0). "I went out there and got bonus points off two pins. It was a productive day for both me and the team," Nakamura said. Penn senior co-captain Mike Fickell, who pinned Harvard's Reggie Lee in just 60 seconds on Friday, also saw vast improvement in his team's productivity. "We came out with a lot more intensity and were ready to wrestle," Fickell said. "We won the mental game this week that we haven't won the past couple of weeks." The Quakers hope to maintain that intensity as they travel to the Southwest to face No. 15 Arizona State on Friday.

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.