Fresh off clinching its record-breaking seventh consecutive Ivy League title, the Penn wrestling team prepares to do what it has done all season -- face a non-conference, nationally-ranked opponent.
On Sunday, the challenger will be Central Michigan, which comes to the Palestra at 2 p.m.
"As long as we wrestle up to our capability we should be fine," 125-pound sophomore Mason Lenhard said.
For eighth ranked Penn (7-4, 4-0 Ivy), wrestling up to its capability is not a complete given after what happened last weekend -- an unheralded Brown squad took half the bouts from the Quakers in staying within a 23-15 margin.
"We didn't wrestle all that well against Brown," Lenhard said. "We took them for granted a bit, and coach [Roger Reina] talked to us about it. We can't overlook anyone."
Senior co-captain Yoshi Nakamura agreed.
"We went in a little too relaxed," Nakamura said. "It was their gym, and they won half the matches. There's always an element of confidence, but we were a little overconfident. It showed we can't take anyone lightly."
The Red and Blue cannot take lightly a Central Michigan (8-5) squad that will enter the Palestra as the first-place team in the Mid American Conference. The Chippewas have also won four out of their last five.
"They're a pretty good team," Nakamura said. "We expect them to put up a really good fight. It's always good to bring in tough competition, and they've proven to be a formidable opponent."
One thing Penn has done this season is bring in top opponents consistently -- the Quakers have faced the top two teams in the country, Iowa and Minnesota, a combined three times.
By assembling a challenging non-conference schedule, the Quakers have garnered a good deal of national recognition. Along with success on a national stage comes top rankings for individuals -- of which Penn has its fair share.
Nakamura enters this weekend ranked second in the country at 157 pounds. Senior co-captain Rick Springman comes into the weekend ranked third at 174. Senior brothers Joe and Josh Henson along with Lenhard also are in the national top-10 at their
