Although the Penn grapplers fell to both No. 8 Penn State and No. 11 Hofstra last weekend, they still have an air of confidence heading into their final two dual meets of the season.
Penn will head into the weekend on the strength of breakout performances by sophomore Matt Valenti and junior Matt Feast. The Quakers also have the piece of mind that they picked up five points on Hofstra and four on Penn State from their first meetings with the two.
The Red and Blue accomplished this despite missing starters Matt Herrington and Paul Velekei, who continue to rehabilitate injuries sustained at the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals on Jan. 17. The duo is expected to be back for the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships to be held at the Palestra March 6-7.
"One thing that's really important is that the guys on the team recognize their progress despite the fact that we have suffered some close losses," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "Even without Herrington and Velekei in the lineup, we closed the gap against both of those teams. And we were in position, with 20 percent of our starting lineup out, to still win those dual meets."
However, confidence can only go so far and the Red and Blue face one of the toughest schedules in the nation, as demonstrated by their No. 18 ranking albeit their 7-8 dual-meet record. Sweeping the weekend will not be easy for the Quakers, as they travel to Princeton, N.J., to grapple the hated Tigers tomorrow, only to be greeted by No. 7 Lehigh at the Palestra when they return on Sunday.
With the Ivy League title already out of reach, this weekend provides little tangible motivation for the Quakers other than the opportunity to grab higher seeds for the EIWA Championships and NCAA Championships. However, a win over a top-25 opponent in their final dual meet, something Penn has only accomplished three times in 10 attempts this year, would help to propel the Quakers through the end of the season.
"We know we can't win the Ivies at this point, but we definitely want to prove where we are in the Ivies," Valenti said. "We have two weeks until Easterns to improve and four weeks until Nationals, and the kid that improves the most from now until then is going to be the kid who does best at Nationals."
Wrestling in the friendly confines of the Palestra may aid Penn against Lehigh. The Quakers have had three meets at the Palestra this year, and each time they have wrestled well -- beating No. 12 Wisconsin, losing to No. 13 Cornell in the final match and taking second at the Keystone Classic.
"It's always more supportive when I'm wrestling in the Palestra, it gives you a mental edge," Feast said. "Any edge you can get in the sport of wrestling is huge, so that is always a plus."
Although the Quakers face their biggest rival in Princeton this weekend, they have dominated the series in recent years, and are concentrating on Lehigh.
"We have different kinds of goals when we're wrestling a team like Princeton ... but the rivalry is definitely still there," Valenti said. "It's always nice to pound on Princeton."
