Pair of matches are 'stepping stones'

For most Penn sports teams, winning the Ivy League regular season is the key to the postseason.

But for the wrestling squad, an Ivy title does not directly impact the team's NCAA tournament chances.

So when the No. 25 Quakers (8-4) start their Ancient Eight season this weekend with matches at Harvard tonight and at Brown tomorrow, pride, not playoff potential, will be on the line.

"The Ivy League is of course important from a Penn standpoint," coach Zeke Jones said, "but in our mind it's a stepping stone. We can evaluate ourselves through the Ivy League. And if we're doing things well, we can assume things will get better coming into the conference and national tournaments."

Both the structure of NCAA wrestling and the Quakers' conference affiliation affect the impact of Ivy League matches. First, postseason berths are given to individual wrestlers who place high in their conference tournaments, not to teams that win their conference's regular season.

Second, the Quakers technically belong to the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. In addition to the six Ivy teams that wrestle (Dartmouth and Yale do not), the EIWA is comprised of eight other schools from the greater Northeast. Thus, Penn must beat non-Ivy competition in its conference tournament.

But that doesn't mean the team ignores Ivy matches.

"The [Ivy] conference is tough," Jones said. "There's some good wrestler on every team. [Brown and Harvard] bring a tough Ivy League rivalry that becomes intense. These teams gear up for Penn."

The Quakers are coming off their best day of the year, having won three matches last Saturday against Gloucester County (N.J.), UNC and then No. 21 Maryland.

"We feel like we're peaking at the right time," senior tri-captain Cesar Grajales said.

For Harvard (0-6-1), injuries have been a key factor in a disappointing season. In their meet against Boston University last Sunday, the Crimson had to forfeit the 133- and 141-pound weightclasses because they were missing three wrestlers.

Meanwhile, the Quakers are relatively healthy. Sophomore Thomas Shovlin had to forfeit his match against UNC Saturday due to injury, but medical tests were negative.

Despite injuries and a winless season so far, Harvard's one bright spot has been sophomore J.P. O'Connor. He's ranked No. 2 in the nation at the 149-pound level. With Grajales the No. 14 grappler in that weightclass, the O'Connor-Grajales bout will be the main event.

"He's obviously a tough wrestler," said Grajales, "I'm going to prepare for it just like any other match . My gameplan is to go out there and attack."

Brown (4-6), though owning a better overall record than Harvard, does not have any ranked wrestlers and is 0-2 against common opponents of Penn.

But Penn won't look past the Bears. Even though its postseason chances are not based on its Ivy matches, they're still meets Penn would love to win.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.