Familiar territory and a familiar opponent may be the formula for capturing the biggest win of the season this Friday at the Palestra.
The No. 14 Penn wrestling team will face the fourth top-10 opponent out of its last five dual opponents when it hosts a No. 6 Hofstra team that seemed to be on a collision course with the Quakers all season long.
Although both teams attended the Las Vegas Invitational and the Northeast and National Duals, there have been no individual or team matchups between the two this season.
Similar playing grounds and opponents, though, have allowed the wrestlers to become better prepared for this much-anticipated dual.
"We've watched [Hofstra] and learned about them," said Penn coach Zeke Jones. "We got a chance to see them compete and we know a lot about them."
Other than the knowledge gained from the mutual tournaments this season, there is also recent history between the squads to consider.
The teams met last year in Hempstead, N.Y. when No. 21 Hofstra beat No. 22 Penn, 25-15.
Much of that Hofstra squad will be making the trip south this Friday, but Jones was wary of preparing for last year's opponent.
"They have a lot of personnel left from last year's team," he said. "But each year there are changes a little bit to each guy. So I'm sure they'll do things differently this year than they did last year."
Nonetheless, wrestlers will have a chance to solidify their national status, while delivering crucial match points for their teams.
There will be plenty of national ranking implications, not only because of the close team rankings, but since six of the ten matches will feature top-20 matchups.
At 133-pounds, Penn's No. 2 Matt Valenti (14-2) will be wrestling for his 120th career victory, a Penn career total only bested by Brett Matter's 128. Valenti's opponent will be No. 18 Lou Ruggirello (25-5), who was recently named Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week.
Hofstra features eight ranked wrestlers on a team that has been an unexpected force this season under newly minted head coach Tom Shifflet.
The Pride have become a force in the CAA, as the team has gone 53 league meets without a loss.
Yet Hofstra was able to make itself known and respected on the national scene for a much more tangible reason - it knocked off No. 1 Minnesota in the opening round of the Northeast Duals.
The Quakers also faced the Gophers in the Northeast Duals, but they were defeated 28-12 in the final round to begin their struggles against higher-ranked opponents.
So far, Penn is winless as a team against ranked competition, but all of these matches were held in neutral territory.
Nearly two months after Penn's last home meet, the return to Philadelphia may be the spark needed to break the winless streak.
"Being in front of our home crowd gives us that energy to raise up in those difficult moments," Jones said. "It can really motivate us when things aren't going well."
Things haven't been going poorly, but they could get a whole lot better by tomorrow night.
