With dual meets scheduled at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. against Gloucester County (N.J.), Maryland and North Carolina, respectively, the Quakers have a full slate of wrestling on tap tomorrow at the Palestra.
Better get some sleep tonight.
"It's going to be a long day," coach Zeke Jones said. "We're probably going to get here earlier in the morning, around 6:30-7 to set up the gym. And then weigh-in is at 9, and we start wrestling at 10. Of course we probably won't get out of here until about 4 or 5."
However, wrestling three meets in a row is not that daunting for the Quakers (5-4).
"We're used to it since we've had a couple of tournaments. So I think we should be all right," said senior Lior Zamir.
Despite this tournament experience, Penn may have to employ a different strategy for tomorrow.
In tournaments, the goal is just to beat the other wrestler in order to advance. However, in a dual meet, the team score which an individual wrestler earns for his team depends on how he beats his opponent.
So if his team is down, a wrestler will try to get the most points possible by pinning the opponent. If a team just needs points to maintain a lead, however, the wrestler might be more conservative and just try to get a decision.
But Penn is happy to be back home in the Palestra, since they haven't wrestled there since a Nov. 25 tilt against Virginia Tech.
Of the three teams the Quakers will face tomorrow, Maryland will provide the biggest challenge. The Terrapins (12-3), are currently ranked No. 21, and have ranked wrestlers in the 174, 184 and 197 pound weightclasses.
The Tar Heels (6-4), meanwhile, are unranked, yet do have two ranked wrestlers.
"You've got three teams that'll be ready to battle," Jones said. "Maryland has got great wrestlers; UNC is pretty good, too."
Gloucester, however, is not as well-known.
"They're good for their level," said Jones, who admittedly wasn't sure what "level" that was.
It turns out the Roadrunners play in the National Junior College Athletic Association, and won last year's NJCAA title.
But the Quakers probably will rest some starters for that match.
And with two ACC teams to face in back-to-back matches, that strategy probably is for the best.
