The No. 22 Penn wrestling team hosted three matches in the Palestra on Sunday, losing to No. 7 Hofstra, before rallying to shut out Wagner and beat neighborhood rival Drexel.
The Quakers (3-2) started the first afternoon of the dual-meet season by coming in as an underdog for its first match of the day. But Penn narrowly missed upsetting the Pride, 23-18.
The Red and Blue bounced back in the second of the afternoon's dual meets, destroying overmatched Wagner, 54-0. In the meet, several freshman who had not yet had the chance to wrestle in a competitive NCAA setting made their debuts for the Quakers.
The third and final match promised to be a bitter fight, but Penn held off the Dragons, 20-15. At least for this year, the Red and Blue has bragging rights in the West Philadelphia rivalry.
Judging by the team's recent lackluster performances against ranked teams at the Midland Championships in December and at then No. 14 Central Michigan in January, the Quakers did not figure to put up much resistance against the higher-ranked Hofstra (6-1). Nevertheless, the Red and Blue found itself in a position to win going into the last bout.
With Penn down just 20-12 and prior knowledge that Hofstra would not field a heavyweight wrestler, the the 197-pound weightclass became the crux of the dual meet. There, Penn senior Marcus Schontube would match up against Hofstra's Chris Skretkowicz, ranked No. 2 nationally by the NWCA/InterMat Individual Coaches' Poll.
Unfortunately for the Quakers, Schontube was turned away convincingly by the favored Hofstra grappler, 5-0.
"Chris Skretkowicz, I've wrestled quite a few times in the past," Schontube said. "We kind of had a game plan going in there and I tried my best to stick to it, but it just didn't end up going my way. All I can do now is sit back and watch film, and the next time I see him to capitalize on some of the mistakes that I made."
Despite the loss, the Penn wrestlers showed their mettle, winning several hard-fought matches to keep it close until the end.
At 133, senior Jeff Eveleth opened up what would eventually be a trio of wins on the afternoon by dispatching No. 17 Charles Griffin in a gritty performance.
Down 5-4 late in the third period, Eveleth needed to generate some points to keep the match alive. He did more than enough, managing to pin Griffin with just one second remaining.
"I knew I was down," Eveleth said. "I thought I was down more, so I thought I needed the pin, but I was really happy about it."
The last-second victory was one of the most exciting moments of the dual meet, and the senior from Severna Park, Md. earned his teammates respect.
"Jeff Eveleth -- amazing match," Schontube said. "He had three tough matches today where it could have gone either way and he just pulled it out with heart at the end."
Another pleasant surprise for Penn in the Hofstra match was a win by sophomore Steve Swentzel, who filled in for injury-slowed Doug McGraw at 149. Without wrestling McGraw, one of the Quakers' highest-ranked wrestlers, the outlook seemed bleak. Swentzel, however, stepped up and turned in a strong performance against Hofstra's John Manarte, defeating him 3-2.
"I thought Steve Swentzel stepped in and did a really great job against Hofstra at 149," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "You know we had some injuries, we didn't wrestle McGraw. We knew we had to save him for Drexel."
Penn's subsequent match against Wagner (0-10) was a masterpiece in the art of rebounding. Shortly after having lost to Hofstra, the Red and Blue crushed the Seahawks, 54-0.
With Wagner forfeiting four matches, Penn had the chance to wrestle several of its younger prospects. Chris Banket, a freshman at 157, looked impressive in pinning his opponents just 33 seconds into the match.
"I think our guys gained some good experience wrestling here at home in the Palestra in a varsity situation," Reina said. "That's always important in the development of a program."
In addition, Eveleth won his second decision of the afternoon, edging Wagner's Mike Tutunjian, 11-10.
The final match of the afternoon also went the Quakers' way, as they sent Drexel (7-7) packing (albeit only down the street) 20-15. The score could have been more lopsided, but the Quakers forfeited the meaningless heavyweight match, choosing to rest senior Matt Feast.
In the dual meet, Eveleth yet again occupied the spotlight, taking part in a gem of a bout. Down by two in the waning seconds of the 133-pound match, Eveleth registered a takedown against opponent Zach Makovsky to tie the score and send the match to sudden death overtime.
Eveleth dominated the extra period, cruising to a 7-5 decision from there on out.
With the win, Eveleth finished off the afternoon at 3-0. Remarkably, not one of his victories came easily, as he fought hard for each one.
"It felt great coming back in all three matches and winning in the last couple seconds or in overtime," Eveleth said. "So we're happy with it. I just concentrated on wrestling my style, not really thinking too much, and just having fun."
After an unsuccessful Midwestern road trip, the Quakers were looking forward to some home cooking in the Palestra on Sunday. Although it did not sweep all three matches, the team was nevertheless pleased with its performance.
"We have things to work on, and we are a little disappointed, but we're happy that we wrestled better, with more intensity," Eveleth said.
Reina echoed his wrestlers' sentiments.
"I was pleased. I think overall, today, all our guys stepped it up a level."
