It took the top-ranked wrestler in the nation to bring down senior Matt Valenti at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this weekend.
Nine top-25 wrestling teams, including No. 25 Penn, were among those competing at the event. Penn finished 10th with 69 team points and had four wrestlers place.
Valenti, ranked No. 8 in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches' Poll, was the star of the weekend for Penn as he finished second in the 133-pound weightclass. He lost the championship to Shawn Bunch of Edinboro, the top-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds in the country. It was Valenti's first loss of the season.
On the way to the championship match, Valenti defeated No. 10 Mike Mormille of Cornell and No. 14 Scott Jorgensen of Boise State.
Three other Penn wrestlers placed in the tournament. Senior Gene Zannetti finished sixth at 157. En route to his placing, Zannetti beat No. 19 James Strouse, of Hofstra, but he ended up losing to Cornell's No.4 Dustin Manotti in the fifth-place match.
Sophomore Lior Zamir finished 7th at 174. He lost to Blake Mauer of Ohio State. Dustin Wiles placed fifth at 184. He lost to Louis Caputo of Harvard but beat No.12 Alex Clemsen of Edinboro.
Coach Zeke Jones was pleased with his team's performance, calling it "a quality tournament."
"It gives us an indicator of where we are at and gives me an opportunity to learn about our team," Jones said.
Michigan, who won the tournament last year, scored 145 team points to repeat as champions. Ivy League powerhouse Cornell finished second with 116 points, while Missouri, Edinboro and Arizona State rounded out the top five.
Besides wrestling against top national programs, the Quakers also had the opportunity to check out the Ivy League competition. Out of 52 teams, No.11 Cornell finished second, Harvard finished 17th, Columbia finished 41st and Brown finished 47th.
Eight other Ivy wrestlers placed at the competition. The surprise of the tournament was Cornell freshman Troy Nickerson in the 125-pound weightclass. Nickerson finished first in his bracket, beating the top seed along the way.
First-year coach Jones valued the ability to watch his Ivy competition.
"It was a chance to get familiar with guys in the conference and find out for myself what those other teams do and how they wrestle," he said.
While the Quakers certainly cannot rest on their laurels, Jones was happy with certain elements of the team's performance -- especially with the results of the team's conditioning, citing it as the reason for several match wins.
The Quakers will compete next on Saturday, Dec. 10 when they take on No. 13 Penn State in the Palestra.
