The Penn wrestling team did what it was supposed to do all season -- readily handling lower echelon teams, but encountering trouble with top 25 opponents.
The Quakers, ranked 16th in the nation during the preseason, went 5-0 against unranked teams, but they only came away with two wins in 10 tries against higher-ranked opponents.
Victories against No. 4 Iowa State and No. 14 Wisconsin were encouraging, but close losses to conference rivals Cornell and Lehigh stopped the Quakers, who finished the dual meet season ranked 18th, from making any significant progress.
However, a second-place finish at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships, ahead of Ivy champion Cornell, seemed to ignite the passion of the Red and Blue.
Seven wrestlers qualified for the grueling three-day NCAA Tournament. Junior Matt Feast and sophomore Matt Valenti, both dominant throughout the year, earned No. 3 seeds, while sophomore Matt Herrington and senior Doug McGraw were also seeded.
The Quakers stumbled early at the tournament. None of the unseeded grapplers defeated an opponent, and by the end of the first day Valenti, Herrington and McGraw had all been sent to the consolation bracket. But a slow start is not an impossible hurdle in the team standings because nearly as many points are available in the consolation bracket as in the championship bracket.
McGraw and Herrington each won one more match before exiting while Feast and Valenti each went on to capture fifth place and All-American honors.
Once again, the Quakers did exactly what was expected of them -- nothing more, nothing less.
"Valenti and I were supposed to be All-American, that was expected," said Feast, a heavyweight. "The guys that weren't expected to didn't, so we really didn't have much luck. We didn't really turn any heads around."
Injuries hurt the Quakers severely, as senior Brett Vanderveer, junior Paul Velekei and Herrington all went into the tournament nursing serious injuries. But after the five month season there are few grapplers who don't have to deal with pain.
Penn was hoping to have a breakout season this year with strong senior leadership and a talented group of underclassmen. The Quakers wanted to show the national wrestling community that they are a program that will have people talking in the near future.
But it is hard for a team that is not able to do anything spectacular to garner much attention.
Lehigh and Ohio State were able to do exactly what the Quakers could not do in St. Louis -- win. The two teams finished tied for third and became two of the top tournament stories.
Lehigh had five All-Americans, but one was unseeded and two more were seeded lower than eighth and not supposed to grab the honor. They only had one grappler make it past the quarterfinals, but managed to earn its keep in the consolation bracket, where the team won 15 matches.
Ohio State, which finished eighth in the Big Ten Tournament on March 7, surprised everyone, including Penn coach Roger Reina.
"I think Ohio State's performance shows that what happened two weeks ago doesn't necessarily dictate what's going to happen here," Reina said. "It's a fresh start and I think their guys really stepped up."
There is a lot to be said about winning individual championships and All-American honors. But pulling in team wins, especially when it is least expected, is the fastest way for up-and-coming programs to gain respect. The resulting media attention can pay dividends in the recruiting process and give a program the confidence it needs to win.
If the Quakers want to become a team that consistently finishes in the top 10 in the nation, they need to create upsets, they need to do the unexpected, they just need to win.
