Duke is not the only highly ranked opponent a Penn team will have faced by the end of this week.
When the men's wrestling team takes on No. 12 (USA Today/ NWCA Coaches' Dual Meet Poll) Penn State on Saturday, it will certainly have its hands full with theNo. 1-ranked wrestler at the 184-pound weightclass, Eric Bradley. Then, after facing the Nittany Lions, the Red and Blue -- who are themselves ranked No. 24 in the nation -- will take on Drexel in the second installment of the evening.
Bradley is a fifth-year senior and Penn State's co-captain. This weekend's match will potentially be his first appearance this season. Plagued by injuries in his first three years with the Nittany Lions, he had a break-out performance during the 2004-05 season.
Faced with the tall order of wrestling against Bradley will be Penn senior captain Dustin Wiles.
"I'm not intimidated, I'm excited for the opportunity." Wiles said.
Bradley will not represent the only challenging matchup of the weekend, as Penn State has seven wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their respective weightclasses.
The Quakers, on the other hand, have only one wrestler ranked in the top 20 of his weightclass. After defeating two ranked wrestlers at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last weekend, junior Matt Valenti, moved up in the polls in the 133-pound weightclass from No. 8 to No. 6.
Along with Wiles' match against Bradley, Valenti's bout with No. 20 Jake Strayer will headline the evening.
Although Valenti is Penn's only ranked wrestler, coach Zeke Jones feels good about his team's chances against the Nittany Lions.
"We're in fairly good health," Jones said. "We need to attack hard."
On the other hand, the first-year coach respects Penn State and acknowledges that it will be tough to beat them because they are a talented group that really "doesn't have any soft spots."
Aside from Valenti and Wiles, Jones will be looking for big performances out of Andrew Gold (125) and Lior Zamir (174). The two will face State's Tim Haas and No. 8 James Yonushonis, respectively.
Penn senior Paul Velekei, a former All-American, will face off against Philip Davis of Penn State, the No. 6 wrestler at 197 pounds. Although he is facing a high-profile opponent, Velekei is not making any big changes in the way he prepares for the match.
"I watched film and got ready the way I always do," Velekei said.
After a torn ACL forced him to the bench last season, he is still trying to get back up to 100 percent.
It is crucial that the Quakers do not forget that they have one more matchup that night after they face Penn State. The dual meet will pit the Red and Blue against Philadelphia rival, Drexel. Jones has been stressing this fact all week.
"We need to give our best performance twice, and everyone's ready to compete," Jones said.
Another factor that should motivate the Quakers is that their former coach, Roger Reina, will also be on hand that night.
Reina, who retired in July after 19 seasons at the helm, will be recognized at a reception before the matches for his contributions to the wrestling program and his accomplishments as the winningest coach in Penn wrestling history.
"It will be an emotional time for all of them," Jones said.
Translating that emotion into results and beating the No. 12 team in the country would certainly be a good way to honor the former coach.
