Just one week after the Penn wrestling team lost a heartbreaker to No. 13 Cornell, a match that in all likelihood will decide the eventual Ivy League champion, Penn coach Roger Reina maintains that the main goals of his season are still within reach.
"Our goal at the beginning of the season was to be successful at the [Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championship] and Nationals," he said.
The Penn coach maintains that he will not be looking over his shoulder at the Big Red this season, but looking ahead at two worthy opponents -- Brown and Harvard.
The No. 18 Quakers (5-6, 1-1 Ivy) have won their last 10 matchups with the Bears (3-7, 0-0).
Reina points to two Brown wrestlers, David Dies and and Nick Ciarcia, who should give the Quakers a hard time today.
Dies, a 149-pounder ranked 18th in the nation, has the most victories on the year for the Bears, 21. The Akron, Ohio, native entered the year ranked ninth in the nation.
Ciarcia is the only other top 20 wrestler for Brown, as he is the 19th- ranked wrestler at 184 pounds. Last season, the tri-captain finished fourth at EIWAs and qualified for NCAAs.
Last weekend, the Bears beat Drexel, 22-14, while losing to No. 7 Lehigh, 25-9.
But Brown wasn't the only team that fell to the Mountain Hawks this weekend. The Crimson (0-8, 0-0) suffered an even worse beating, 38-8, as it struggles to find its first win on the season.
The Quakers hold an equally impressive win streak against Harvard, winning the last 13 matchups.
However, Reina is quick to note Crimson senior Jesse Jantzen, the nation's top-ranked 149-pounder. The All-American is 18-1 on the season, and has yet to lose this year at 149 pounds.
In 2003, Jantzen finished third at the NCAA Championships. This year, he made it to the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Invitational.
Sophomore Max Meltzer also poses a threat to the Quakers at 141 pounds. The Bethesda, Md., native finished third at last year's EIWA Championships.
A bright spot in Penn's lineup lately has been junior Richard Ferguson. The 165-pounder has won his last three matches, beating opponents from Minnesota, Cornell and Columbia.
While Reina says that the team is too focused on its upcoming schedule to worry about Cornell, the Quakers have to be rooting for the Big Red to lose one of its three remaining Ivy League games, either tomorrow's match against Columbia or next week's matchups with Harvard and Brown.
