Wrestling | With Eiter win or loss, opening slate busy

How's this for a busy opening weekend?

The wrestling team starts its 2008-09 campaign with dual matches against Princeton and No. 9 Michigan tomorrow at the Palestra, and then on Sunday, it hosts nine other teams in the all-day Keystone Classic.

"It's going to be a grind," coach Rob Eiter said. "It is what it is, but it's going to be a physical and mental challenge."

The Quakers will ease into the hectic two days with the noon meet against the Tigers. Although the Tigers already have a regulation tournament under their belts this year, they went a horrific 0-18 in dual matches last season.

Michigan, on the other hand, poses something of a hurdle. The Wolverines - who start their season with a dual meet at Lehigh tonight - tied for seventh last year at the NCAA tournament in St. Louis. They return three top-five wrestlers, including Steve Luke, who placed second at nationals and is ranked first in the 174-pound weight class.

Still, outside of that triumvirate, the Wolverines lack experience. They lost three NCAA qualifiers from last year and will start three wrestlers who have yet to see varsity action.

"They have a team that has some individuals who are well-known," Eiter said. "But they have a lot of new faces . They're a little bit of an unknown."

Meanwhile, Penn has nine athletes with varsity experience, five of whom are ranked.

Despite the early-season test against a top-10 team, the Quakers are excited to start with such strong competition.

"It's good to jump into the deep end," junior Rollie Peterkin said. "We've looked good in preseason. This is one of the strongest teams we've had in a while."

On Sunday, the Red and Blue will get a chance to earn some personal recognition, as the Keystone Classic is a double elimination tournament in the mold of NCAAs.

Last year, two Quakers earned individual championships and three others lost title bouts.

Peterkin, the 125-pound weightclass winner, isn't thinking about last year.

"I don't see it as defending my title," the Wellesley, Mass., native said. "I haven't thought about it."

Six of the Palestra's nine visiting squads - American, Appalachian State, Boston University, Pittsburgh, Rider and Virginia Military Institute - have at least one ranked wrestler, with the Panthers bringing three. Brown, Davidson and Mercyhurst have none, and no team cracked the top 25.

"It's going to be a challenging weekend," Peterkin said. "But if we do the right things, we're poised to do well on both days."

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