When the Quakers' season began in November, they came up with a set of team goals. One of those goals was to repeat as Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association and Ivy League champions and to send all 10 wrestlers to Nationals. In early February, Penn had already easily won the Ivy title and seemed a lock for the EIWA crown. Two weeks later, Penn surprisingly lost to Lehigh, last year's EIWA runner-up. But over spring break, the Red and Blue came back with a vengeance at Easterns at the Palestra, breaking records and opening the eyes of those who watched and heard. Of the 10 weight classes and 14 schools, Penn had eight finalists and six champions. The Quakers scored 183 team points, breaking Lehigh's record of 172.5 set back in 1975. "We looked into what it would take to break that record," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "A way to extend ourselves and get the most out of our own potential." The Quakers also won by the largest margin in history -- 80 points over Lehigh (103). Despite the Engineers' dual meet victory over Penn, they had no champions or finalists. Brown finished third with 95.5 points and two champions. All four of Penn's No. 1 seeds won titles -- junior Ben Hatta at 118 pounds, sophomore Brett Matter (142), and tri-captains Brandon Slay (167) and Clinton Matter (177). The other two Quakers champions, senior Bart Murphy and sophomore Andrei Rodzianko were seeded sixth and fifth, respectively. Murphy avenged three losses from earlier in the season by defeating third seed Mike Francesca of Brown in sudden death, second seed Joe Killar of Harvard and top seed Jason Peters of East Stroudsburg. Murphy did not give up a single takedown all tournament. Sophomore Rodzianko, who had been out since January 5 with torn cartilage in his ribs, took Cornell's Carlos Eason, ranked sixth in the nation, to double overtime and finally won, 8-7. In the finals, Rodzianko won in a fall over Syracuse's Doug Joseph. The Penn sophomore is now ranked eighth in the nation. "These two guys really stood out," Reina said. Murphy and Rodzianko exemplify what Reina points out as two of the important elements to the success of Penn's program. "Persistence and hard work," Reina said. "It's been a building process and these two have been common threads. Persistence and hard work has gotten this Penn team very far as has solid recruiting every year. Although the Quakers fell just short of their goal of send all 10 to the NCAA tournament, the eight who qualified will have the chance to compete against the top 32 wrestlers in their weight classes. The tournament takes place in Cedar Falls, Iowa on the campus of Northern Iowa Thursday and Friday. Although the competition will be much tougher, five of the eight competed last year. Penn hopes to return All-Americans, those who finish in the top eight of each weight class. "We have a few guys who could be national champions and everyone who's going could be an All-American," said Quakers senior Sean O'Hara, who wrestles at 134 pounds. O'Hara, who is 10th in the nation, placed second at Easterns, behind the No. 5 nationally ranked Carl Keske of Cornell. Another senior who will be representing Penn at Nationals is Joey Allen, who lost in the finals to Jason Gleasman of Syracuse. Senior Steve Walker, who did not qualify, was chosen as an alternate at 126 and placed third in the East. Walker lost to eventual second place finisher Bob Hanson of Syracuse 9-8 in a down-to-the-last-second fight in the semifinals. "It's that kind of tenacity we're looking for that's absolutely essential to succeeding at NCAAs," Reina said. In addition to capturing individual NCAA titles, Penn will gain team points towards a team total. The Quakers hope to peak at Nationals and also build a larger reputation for the now 15th ranked team in the nation. "Our team is peaking at the right time," Slay said. "We're ready to go, to continue to open the eyes of other schools and help make a name for Penn."
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