In 1997, following an embarrassing loss to Lehigh at the Palestra, the Penn wrestling team prepared, again, to face Lehigh along with some of its toughest competition of the year at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships.
Then-sophomore Andrei Rodzianko, who had been sidelined since January with a painful rib injury, decided to come back for one more tournament. Although Rodzianko was only the fifth seed, he managed to beat the fourth seed and defeat top-seeded Frank Workman, the fourth-ranked wrestler in the country. Rodzianko ultimately pinned his opponent in the finals in overtime to seal the team title for the Quakers.
The Red and Blue went on to send eight wrestlers to the final round and crown six champions, both EIWA records. They also set records for the largest margin of victory and highest point total at the EIWA.
Penn hopes that history will repeat itself at this year's EIWAs, as they return two key grapplers and are coming off a disheartening 24-9 loss to Lehigh two weeks ago. But repeating a performance similar to that in 1997 may be much harder the second time around.
Sophomores Matt Herrington and Paul Velekei will finally return to the lineup after sitting out since the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals on Jan. 17. Although the duo may have some rust in the early rounds, they have purposely been kept off the mats until this weekend in an effort to return to full strength.
"These guys have been really making sure that my conditioning has been staying at the top level," Herrington said. "Also I've just been conditioning my shoulder a lot; just doing all the little things to keep me in shape enough to where I can return to full level."
Both grapplers were nationally ranked before sustaining their injuries, and they will provide an immeasurable boost for the Quakers both on the mat and in the locker room. Their return also gives the Quakers a legitimate shot to take home the team title this weekend.
"It's huge to have those two back in the lineup," senior Brett Vanderveer said. "They have both been working real hard to get back to where they were and they'll show it this weekend."
However, in order to capture their first EIWA title since 1999, the Red and Blue will have to defeat No. 8 Lehigh and No. 15 Cornell, both of which beat Penn in the dual-meet season.
Penn will also have to contend with the other 10 EIWA teams, including Harvard, which should have strong individual showings from No. 12 Max Meltzer at 141 pounds and No. 1 Jesse Jantzen at 149 pounds. Army should also score well, especially No. 7 Phillip Simpson at 157 pounds and No. 20 Luke Calvert at 184 pounds.
However, the biggest challenge for the Quakers will still come from the Big Red and Engineers, who each roll into the tournament with six nationally ranked wrestlers. Penn will send five ranked grapplers of its own to the mat as well as Velekei, who fell out of the top 20 while injured. In the end, the Palestra could become a big factor between three very even teams.
"The added advantage of wrestling at home in the Palestra is something we are excited about," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "I think it's always fun to compete in your home arena."
The tournament will have a huge impact on the national wrestling scene, as will all the league tournaments going on this weekend -- only the Pac-10 has wrapped up its season.
This year, the EIWA has been allocated 39 of the 330 spots at the NCAA Tournament, up from 36 last year. The EIWA now only trails the Pac-10 and Big Ten in allocation of qualifiers, which is based on the performance of each conference over the last five years.
The finalists in each weight class this weekend will receive automatic bids to the tournament. The remaining 19 wild cards will be selected by the coaches from the third, fourth and fifth-place finishers at each weight class.
Penn sophomore No. 3 Matt Valenti is expected to dominate at 125 pounds following a heartbreaking loss in the finals last year, when he was taken by Cornell's Travis Lee with only seconds remaining. Lee, a junior, has moved up to 133 pounds this year and is the favorite in that weight class.
Penn junior No. 2 Matt Feast is also expected to perform well. He is in the only weight class that has only one nationally ranked wrestler competing.
Velekei and Herrington both have shots at winning individual titles, but they will have to contend with Lehigh's No. 11 Travis Frick and No. 3 Brad Dillon, respectively.
"It was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do -- to watch my team lose to Cornell by such a close amount and knowing that I might have been able to help them out and not being able to do anything but sit on the side," Herrington said. "Having a second chance and being able to wrestle the guys from [Lehigh and Cornell] and really hopefully win an Eastern title for our team, I'm definitely real excited to get back."
