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(12/14/00 10:00am)
While the common Penn student recuperates in bed from a sleep-deprived exam week this winter break, 37 men will shed their covers of protection and go to battle.
On December 29, January 7 and January 12, the Quakers men's wrestling team will look to continue its assault on its opponents.
This time frame may constitute a vacation to some, but not to the Penn wrestlers, who will be grappling with arguably the most competitive portion of this year's schedule, prior to the NCAAs.
The first destination for the Red and Blue wrestling train is Evanston, Ill., and the Northwestern campus. Here, Penn will attempt to derail strong opposition in The Midlands Open.
"The Midlands is annually one of, if not the best collegiate tournament leading up to the NCAAs, and is a true test of where we stand nationally," Penn coach Roger Reina said.
Reina will be looking at this tournament as a test of the Red and Blue's current abilities, in preparation for the grand-daddy of them al -- the NCAAs.
"It takes place with two months remaining in the season, so that improvements can still be made after the Midlands and before the NCAAs," Reina said.
Last season, the Quakers placed fourth out of the 56 teams in the Midlands field, a field that includes the elite teams of the Big Ten.
The reigning Ivy League champions will return home to the Palestra on January 7, when they will attempt to avenge last season's 18-17 loss at Michigan.
Penn's match with the Wolverines is part of a home-and-home agreement, as the Quakers traveled to Ann Arbor last January.
"Michigan is a highlight of our home dual meet season," Reina said.
Finally, the Red and Blue will travel to Hampton, Va., on January 16 to take part in the 16-team Virginia Duals.
"The Virginia Duals is a national caliber event -- very prestigious," Reina said.
The notable teams the Quakers will be wrestling against in the Hampton Coliseum are Cornell, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Rider, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
Reina is looking to finalize his dual meet team prior to the Virginia Duals, noting the ranking implications the tournament holds.
"We expect to have our dual-meet lineup solidified by then and look forward to gaining on our national ranking at this event," Reina noted.
So when your head aches from lack of sleep or your stomach feels queasy from egg-nog, just remember, some of your classmates will be attacking the premier wrestlers in the country, bleeding red and blue.
(12/01/00 10:00am)
When the Penn wrestling team boards a bus en route to Happy Valley and Penn State this weekend, the Red and Blue will be in search of not only a tournament victory but also team development.
The Penn State Open will include a medley of teams, most of which hail from the East. At 9 a.m., the the grappling will begin, as the Quakers square off against the likes of Navy, Rider, Seton Hall, and the host Nittany Lions.
Yet, as this is an open event, Penn coach Roger Reina noted that currently unknown competition could appear.
"It will be an open event, an event that will have a very wide range of teams being represented," Reina said.
Within a field that should prove to be of large proportions, the Quakers will be targeting Navy and Penn State.
Navy, a fellow EIWA conference member, is ranked eighth in the conference. Penn holds the third position.
Navy cannot be overlooked, however, since the Midshipmen pose a threat within the competitive EIWA.
"Facing Navy will be important, in terms of our conference," Reina said. "It will have bearings on the individual rankings within the conference, which will impact the seedings for the Eastern Championships."
Penn State, will also be a marked team for the Red and Blue this Sunday.
Ranked 25th nationally and fifth in the Atlantic Regional Division I Preseason Rankings, the Nittany Lions are projected to have a talented team this winter. Penn ranked fourth in the Atlantic preseason poll, and 15th nationally.
This will be the first of two meetings between the Quakers and Lions.
"We'll have a good chance to take a look at them [Penn State], and we'll have a dual meet with them in January," Reina said.
Penn State is coming off of a fourth-place finish in it's last showing, at the Mat-Town Classic.
Rider and Seton Hall, teams that the Red and Blue bested in the Keystone Classic two weekends ago, will also be making appearances.
Both teams failed to upend Penn, finishing second and fourth respectively to the Quakers, the tournament victor.
Regardless of the other competition that appears at Penn State's Recreational Hall on Sunday morning, Coach Reina is looking forward to a strong showing by the Quakers.
"We've competed very well at this tournament every time that we've gone," Reina said.
Reina, who has constructed arguably the best wrestling program in the state, intends to use this weekend's result as an evaluation of the team's progress thus far.
"We use this tournament as an opportunity to get a high number of matches in and evaluate our technical progress," Reina said.
Individually, Penn wrestlers will be aiming to utilize this tournament to help elevate their rankings.
Yoshi Nakamura is currently ranked eight in the 157-pound weight division by Amateur Wrestling News, second in the EIWA and fifth by Intermat.
The Outstanding Wrestler of the Keystone Classic will be looking to sustain or possibly even elevate his current rankings by wrestling well at Penn State this weekend.
Also, Jody Giuricich and Mike Fickell, both ranked number two by the EIWA, will be attempting to dominate the field in their respective 175-pound and 191-pound weight classes.
Most importantly, the Red and Blue wrestling team will return to the Penn Campus as a more experienced and technically inclined team.
"Our focus is on our own technical development, not the teams that will be there," said Reina.
News and Notes
The last time Penn faced Penn State, the Quakers defeated the Nittany Lions, 22-16, last December at the Palestra. At the 1998 Penn State Open, the Red and Blue performed well. Rick Springman, who is sitting out this season, won the 165-pound title at the tournament.
(11/22/00 10:00am)
When the last fall occurs on an Ivy League mat this winter, the Ivy standings should resemble those of the last half decade. According to this historical trend, Penn and Cornell will be atop the Ivy League standings, Harvard and Brown will occupy the middle of the pack and Columbia and Princeton will inhabit the basement. Dartmouth and Yale do not have wrestling teams.
Penn
Penn will be looking to win its sixth title since 1994, and its fifth straight. With a recruiting class ranked fourth in the nation by the Amateur Wrestling News, and the leadership of senior captains Mike Fickell and Yoshi Nakamura, the Penn team is poised to be the juggernaut of the Ivy League.
But coach Roger Reina, who holds 165 coaching victories at Penn to date, is cautiously optimistic.
"In my experience as a head coach of 15 years, every year is different," Reina said. "Each year does not roll into the other."
Cornell
Cornell will be Penn's greatest challenge within the Ivy League. With their 1995 Ivy League title, the Big Red are the only squad to have interrupted Penn's string of dominance in recent years.
Further, in a preview of its strength this year, the Big Red won the Cornell Invitational on November 18.
"Over the course of the last 15 years, Cornell and Penn have been the dominant programs within the Ivy League. There is a likelihood that could happen again," Reina said.
But this year's Cornell team is a youthful one, as freshmen and sophomores are projected to comprise more than half of the 10 weight class positions.
"Cornell has traditionally had good recruiting, but they have been hard-pressed to produce an All-American at the NCAA level," Reina said. "But they have been pretty consistent with the strength of the entries in all the weight categories."
Harvard
Harvard should put forth a decent team this winter. In fact, the Crimson hold a pre-season EIWA ranking of No. 4, one spot behind the Red and Blue.
"Harvard is a team that is emerging but hasn't yet been able to put forward a full lineup with strength in every weight class" Reina said.
Brown
Brown looks to pose little threat to the big guns in the Ivy League this winter. Last weekend, Brown finished finished fifth in the Keystone Classic, a tournament the Quakers won.
"We saw that Brown had some strong people, but I didn't see anyone that dominant," Reina said.
Princeton
This winter, Princeton will be looking to avenge its winless season against Ivy League teams last year. Despite last winter's 0-5 record and running a program short of funding due to Title IX, the Tigers rank third among Ivy League teams, according to the EIWA preseason rankings.
"Princeton has been a program that was nearly discontinued, largely because of unintended consequences of Title IX, but they have rallied and gotten increased alumni support," Reina said. "There is good enthusiasm there."
Columbia
Rounding out the six Ivy League teams involved in wrestling competition is Columbia.
The oldest wrestling program in the country will be led this year by a new a head coach, Brandan Buckley.
"They have some good recruits, but transition phases are always difficult," Reina said.
Despite the Lions' long tradition and a new coach, it is indeed expected to be a difficult year in Morningside Heights.
(11/01/00 10:00am)
Playing under harsh weather conditions, the Penn men's golf team battled to a fifth-place finish at the Georgetown Invitational this past weekend.
The 16-team tournament was held not in D.C., but rather in Leesburg, Va., at the Lansdowne Resort.
Penn fired scores of 312 and 314 on days one and two, respectively. The team score of 626 was respectable, considering the strong wind blowing through the Virginia course on both days of competition.
Peyton Wallace, who finished tied for third on the team, attributed the wind to making the same golf course that the Quakers conquered last year much more of a challenge. In addition, the greens were dry, creating difficulty in sticking approach shots on the green.
"The wind was really swirly and gusty, so it was unpredictable," Wallace said.
"The greens were very firm," he added.
Penn sophomore Chad Perman fared best among the Quakers. The 2000 All-Ivy selection as a freshman finished in 10th place overall with a two-day score of 153.
"I think being patient and just trying to make par allowed me to finish 10th in the difficult, windy conditions. Becoming frustrated in difficult conditions only makes things worse," Perman said.
The Red and Blue's fifth-place finish was not the result that the team hoped for in its final fall tournament. Penn had finished in second place in its two tournaments prior to the Georgetown Invitational.
"The team did not play particularly well, but we can only compare ourselves to the field," Perman said.
However, finishing ahead of rival Princeton enabled the Quakers to leave D.C. with a great deal of pride. The Quakers edged out the Tigers by two strokes.
"Beating Princeton was nice psychologically, as well as rankings-wise. We helped ourselves by beating a lot of teams in our district," Perman said.
In the four tournaments that both the Quakers and Tigers have played in this year, Penn has placed higher twice.
"They had beaten us twice, and that [tournament] evened our record against them. We're always happy to beat Princeton," Wallace said.
Penn State and Seton Hall prevailed in the 16-squad invitational. The tournament co-champions shot team scores of 606.
(11/01/00 10:00am)
Kyle Moran embodies just about everything you would expect to find in an exceptional captain.
The Penn men's golf standout has been a first team All-Ivy selection not once, but twice. He was a component of the Quakers team that won the Ivy League title in 1998. He placed first in a 16-team tournament two weekends ago.
However, he doesn't only garner accolades on the golf course. The Wharton senior also holds a prestigious title -- Academic All-American. That's a first for Penn men's golf.
And admiring coach Francis Vaughn holds great respect for Moran both as a person and as a golfer.
"Kyle has led by example both on and off the golf course. He works very diligently... and he's developed into a great player," Vaughn said. "He plays very much within himself, and strategically he plays a great game around the course."
Moran holds equal respect for Vaughn, who has molded him into the leaderboard threat that he is today.
"We have a terrific coach, who is both a leader, teacher and also a very good friend for us," he said.
Moran's ultimate goal is not an individual one, but instead he hopes for the entire Penn team to sit atop the leaderboard when the final group walks off the 18th green at this year's Ivy Championship.
"Our season is defined by our performance in the Ivy League Championship, even though it is only a one-tenth of the rounds we play," Moran said.
With respect to his individual performance, Moran aims at playing to his potential in every tournament round.
"My individual goal for each tournament is to go out and put up the best two or three rounds that I can," he said. "I just try to take it week by week and know that if I am giving my all... it's a matter of if the breaks go our way most of the time."
These breaks have not quite gone Penn's way this fall. The team has consistently turned in excellent scorecards -- placing second in its last two tournaments -- but its combined scores have yet to secure a win.
"I think we've played real well," Moran said. "We've had a few near-misses lately, where you can't criticize anything in particular.... We're just not breaking through. I think we're really close to playing terrific golf."
Moran attributes this fall's successes to the equality of talent on the Penn team.
"We're lucky to have a team this year where seven people are on an equal footing come each weekend. We have the potential to beat every team that we meet. I certainly feel good about the team going into the spring season," Moran said.
Moran intends to exchange his golf bag for a briefcase following this spring, as he plans to drive into the world of investment banking.
"It won't allow me to play as much golf as Penn has, for sure," he joked.
(10/24/00 9:00am)
With only two tournaments remaining on this fall's schedule, the Penn men's golf team traveled to Upstate New York this past weekend in search of a performance they would remember well into the spring.
This memorable outing came in the form of two solid team rounds of 306 and 307 at the Binghamton Invitational. Those scores handed Penn second place on the leaderboard out of sixteen teams, marking the Red and Blue's second consecutive bridesmaid finish.
The two consistent showings last weekend provided a change from Penn's previous weekends this autumn. One stellar round coupled with one average round had been the Quakers' norm during prior tournaments this year.
In accordance with the team's exceptional performance, a myriad of individual bests emerged. On a narrow SUNY-Binghamton course, senior Kyle Moran, junior Mike Russell and sophomore Chad Perman all turned in impressive scorecards.
Moran, of Bonita Springs, Florida, left New York with the title of Binghamton Invitational individual co-champion, as he tied for first place. Moran shot two sensational rounds totalling 149, capped off by a clutch round two score of one-over 73. That round catapulted Moran from fifth to first.
After finishing 18 holes on Sunday, Moran was deadlocked with a SUNY-Binghamton golfer for the tournament's lead. A playoff ensued as darkness fell on the course. Eventually, it got so dark that Moran felt he couldn't continue.
"It got to a point where [the playoff] was unresolvable," Moran said. "We literally could not see the shots. The Binghamton coach wanted to settle it out on the course. It was pitch dark. The tournament director had a vested interest in his own team. At that point, it became ridiculous."
Russell carried the team during round one, where he shot a field-leading score of 74. Russell attributed his low round to his green work.
"I putted very well," Russell said.
Sophomore Perman followed his team-leading round two score of even par at the Lehigh Invitational two weekends ago with a fifth-place finish. Perman shot a score of 152 on a challenging Binhamton course.
Although the team arguably played its best golf this season, it still has a yen for victory. Penn finished a mere two strokes out of first place, falling to the course's home team, SUNY Binghamton.
"We have finished second in five of our last seven tournaments going back to last spring. It's been a long stretch. We're definitely itching to go over the hump and win a tournament," Moran said.
The Quakers will attempt to satiate this desire for a team victory in their final tournament this fall at the Georgetown Invitational this upcoming weekend.
(10/18/00 9:00am)
As the scorecards were turned in at the end of round one, the Leigh Invitational seemed to be the Penn men's golf team's first disappointing showing of the year. A team score of 306 at the end of day one resulted in a sixth-place standing on the leaderboard. It was an unfamiliar position for this year's Quakers.
The Quakers were victorious in the exact same tournament last year. There's no doubt that sliding into sixth place was disappointing initially.
"It was a rough day the first day out," said Penn freshman Adam Squires, who shot a team-best 73 on the day.
However, a tenacious Red and Blue appeared during round two.
Led by sophomore Chad Perman's blistering score of even-par 72 on day two, Penn shot four places up the leaderboard into second place. In fact, the team combined for the best score of the day -- 297.
"In the first round, I played a little sloppy. I was a little more comfortable with the course in the second round. I think everyone hadn't played a tournament in a while and didn't know what to expect," Perman said. "I hit a lot of greens, which gave me a shot at a lot of realistic birdie chances, and helped my score out."
Penn coach Francis Vaughn, who has witnessed strong consistent play thus far this fall, was not ecstatic over his team's performance, despite the dramatic turnaround.
"The team believed they could win the golf tournament," Vaughn said. "It was not our best round of the year. We shot a 289 at Navy."
Mike Russell played the best 36 holes on the team, tallying scores of 75 and 73. Following Russell by a single stroke was the lone freshman on the Red and Blue, Squires, a native of Coral Springs, Fla. Squires posted robust rounds of 73 and 76 in his first tournament of the year and of his Penn golf career.
"I kept the ball in play, made some birdies and played an all around good game. I played two decent rounds," Squires said.
The newcomer's strong performance left an impression on the coach.
"Adam Squires played really well for his first tournament. He finished 11th individually, which I thought was great," Vaughn said.
The Quakers' second-place finish was bittersweet, nevertheless, as they were edged out by Princeton. The Red and Blue's archrival captured the tournament by seven strokes.
"It was disappointing to us, but they just played better than us this tournament," Perman said.
The Red and Blue have placed sixth, fifth and second in its last three tournaments, respectively. Penn looks to bring home its first championship of the year at the Binghamton Invitational, October 21-22.
(09/20/00 9:00am)
A round of 34-over-par would fail to please your average duffer.
But for the Penn men's golf team, a two-day total of 34-over at the James Madison Invitational feels like a 30-foot birdie putt that falls right into the cup.
Behind strong outings from senior Kyle Moran and sophomore Chad Perman, the Quakers captured a fifth-place finish last weekend in Harrisonburg, Va. The two-day tournament's field consisted of 17 teams from all around the East, including Princeton.
On Friday, Penn found itself comfortably in third place, but fell to fifth after Saturday's round. Penn recorded team scores of 298 and 304, respectively.
This was a significant improvement from Penn's ninth-place performance in the same tournament last year. Penn coach Francis Vaughn, who has helped to develop the Quakers into a perennial Ivy League championship contender, felt that his team met his expectations.
"I was not surprised [at] our fifth-place finish," Vaughn said. "The team played well last week and had a good week of practice."
That week of practice followed up a sixth-place performance for the Red and Blue at the Navy Invitational.
Looking ahead to Penn's next tournament, which is nearly a month away, Vaughn hopes to focus on team members' short games during practices.
"This is one area where everyone on the team could improve," Vaughn said.
The Quakers will try to keep their momentum rolling and their putts sinking at the Lehigh Invitational on October 13-15.
At James Madison, 1999 All-Ivy selection Moran placed 11th out of the 90 players competing in the field. Moran shot a two-day total of 147, five-over-par. Teammate Chad Perman followed with a total of 149, landing him in the 17th-place position.
"Endel Liias and Mike Russell also played well this past weekend," Vaughn said.
Liias and Russell rounded out the Penn scoring. Liias tallied a score of 151, while Russell shot a total score of 155.
St John's won the tournament with a team score of 16-over.
Princeton finished in 13th place, marking the second week in a row that the Tigers have been bested by the Red and Blue.
