For the wrestling team, the last four months of bouts, pins and takedowns all comes down to this weekend.
Starting tomorrow and finishing up Sunday, the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association will hold its conference tournament at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. And with 47 spots at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis up for grabs, this is the tournament of the year.
"We're definitely physically prepared," senior captain Lior Zamir said. "We've been training our asses off all year for this.
"Mentally, it's my last year, so I'm going to leave it all out there. I can't control the results, so I'll just have to let the chips fall into place."
The tournament works just like any other in which the Quakers (13-5, 6-1 EIWA) have competed this year. Each of the EIWA's 14 teams sends a wrestler for each of the 10 weightclasses.
In the end, the top four wrestlers of each weightclass, plus seven wildcards as determined by league coaches, will advance to St. Louis.
For those that can't do quick math, that means about one-third of the wrestlers this weekend will qualify for nationals.
"It's key to get in the top four at the conference meet so you don't leave it into the hands of the coaches if you finish fifth," Penn coach Zeke Jones said.
"Each bout is going to be important, because each team wants to qualify its guys. And with 14 teams and 47 spots, that's not that many" NCAA berths.
Although the main focus of the meet is qualifying for nationals on the individual level, there is also an overall team competition.
And there's one team that's a step above the rest, at least on paper.
"Cornell is the favorite; they're usually ranked in the top 10 of the country at the end of the season," Zamir, a 174-pounder, said. "They're a very strong team, and we obviously have a rivalry with them.
So far this year Cornell is 9-5 overall, although it is 5-0 in EIWA matches, including a 19-15 win over Penn on Feb. 16. The Big Red won the EIWA team championship last year.
"We had a close meet with them earlier," Zamir said. "They have some good guys, but I definitely think we can beat them."
The Quakers, meanwhile, haven't won an EIWA team championship since 1999, although they did finish third last year.
"I think we're ready to go," Jones said.
"We're like every team at this point. Everyone's excited to compete . We'll see what the eye of the tiger looks like, and we'll see if we have it. I think we do.
"But in terms of preparation, there's no doubt it's been A-plus. And I think that has come out in our dual meets."
Of course, preparation only gets you so far. But by Sunday night, the Quakers will find out if all of their hard work will pay off.
