The grapple doesn't fall far from the tree.
That might be a slight misspelling of the true maxim, but for Penn wrestlers and Holland, Pa., natives Rick and Mark Rappo and their three brothers, it's quite accurate.
"It's just kind of a thing that's really part of our family," Rick said.
All five siblings wrestle; senior Rick and freshman Mark for the Quakers, Michael for North Carolina and Matt and Billy for their high school teams.
The sport has played a paramount role in the development of all their lives, and no one knows that better than the leader of the gang, 141-pound wrestler Rick.
"It's always been like that," he said. "Ever since I started wrestling, all of my brothers pretty much followed in those footsteps."
That prospect became more daunting when Rick won the Pennsylvania state title as a high school junior in 2004.
And just like that, a set of young men that live and breathe brotherly encouragement and competition - Penn coach Rob Eiter calls it "brother syndrome" - had a new challenge.
Or mission. But that's just a matter of semantics.
"I've been under pressure my whole life," Mark Rappo said. "My older two brothers both won state championships, so of course there was pressure for me to win a state championship."
The increased intra-house rivalry has certainly yielded results.
Results to the tune of a 52-1 record for Mark as a high school junior, and a 50-0 tally as a senior. And oh yeah, one of those state championships.
With home only about 30 minutes north of Philadelphia, Rick's first three years on the Red and Blue acted as experience for Mark, too.
He said that experience gives him a leg up on his fellow freshmen.
"Him being on the team allowed me to come closer, build a relationship [with Eiter and future teammates] before anyone else was able to."
Not surprisingly, that experience has also been pretty helpful for Rick.
More time training in a D-I program has produced rapidly improving results.
After winning only 11 matches combined in his first two seasons at Penn, the eldest Rappo brother had a career year as a junior in 2007-08, posting 21 wins, a second place conference finish in his weight class and an NCAA tournament bid.
And to hear him tell it, his and his brothers' successes are as much nurture as nature.
"Different families talk about different things, whether it be academics or art or music," he said. "I think for us, it's just wrestling."
