Coach Zeke Jones pushed the wrestling team to its physical limits this past week despite the start of conference play over the weekend. And, apparently, the extra exertion was helpful.
The No. 22 Quakers (USA Today/NWCA Coaches' Poll) went on the road to Brown and Harvard, taking 14 of 20 total bouts on the way to a 2-0 Ancient Eight start. Penn beat Brown 26-10 on Friday before handing Harvard a 30-18 loss the next day.
"I think overall we competed well," Jones said. "To get two conference wins is always important."
The Quakers now share the top spot in the league along with No.13 Cornell, who Penn will face Friday in a meet that will likely determine the Ivy League championship.
Brown (6-7, 1-1 Ivy) never posed a serious threat as Penn won the first four bouts. No. 10 Matt Valenti (133), Cesar Grajales (141), Matt Dragon (149) and Gene Zannetti (157) each won their respective matches to open the meet.
After Lior Zamir lost at 165 pounds, the Quakers rattled off three straight wins before losing the last two bouts. Mike Silengo lost in the only real upset, as Brown's Jeff Schell defeated him at 125 pounds.
On Saturday, Penn saw a couple of familiar faces in Cambridge. Zannetti and Dustin Wiles sought to avenge losses incurred earlier in the season at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. But neither Zannetti nor Wiles could beat opponents Andrew Flanagen and Louis Caputo again.
Penn started off the meet with an early advantage as Harvard (3-5, 1-1 Ivy) forfeited bouts against both Silengo and Valenti. Penn proceeded to take four of the last eight bouts as Matt Dragon, Matt Herrington, Zamir, and Paul Velekei all recorded wins.
Coach Jones had praise for many of his wrestlers saying that they "competed tough" and "gave great focus."
The Quakers lost both matches that featured seeded opponents. Grajales could not handle No.14 Max Meltzer at 141 pounds and No.7 Bode Ogunwole pinned Jayson Bowlsby at 285 pounds.
Jones did not disparage his team for any particular weaknesses, but also was not quick to comment on any of their strengths.
"It's always easier to point things out that we did wrong," he said. "Our backs weren't against the wall from team perspective, but we made some gains."
