Pair of nationally ranked foes defeat Penn wrestlers

On a scale, Matt Valenti might be only 125 pounds. But over the weekend, the Penn wrestler came up with some weighty victories.

The Quakers lost both their dual meets this weekend. They fell, 20-17, to Hofstra (15-5) and 21-15, to Penn State (13-4).

But the last person to blame is Valenti. Ranked No. 8 in his weight class by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, the sophomore registered a major decision with a 10-1 victory over No. 7 Tom Noto of Hofstra.

He followed up the effort with another win against No. 14 Adam Smith of Penn State.

"It definitely felt very good," Valenti said. "It gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to wrestle at a national level.

"So far, I would say those were two of the best matches of my career."

Penn coach Roger Reina agreed, saying that the 125-pounder "stepped it up to a new notch."

The victories was overshadowed by a disappointing weekend for the Quakers (7-9).

The nation's No. 17 team hoped to boost its ranking against the 13th-ranked Pride and seventh-ranked Nittany Lions.

The Quakers started sluggishly against Hofstra, losing the first six matches.

After Penn's No. 16 Marcus Schontube lost a 6-3 match to No. 5 Chris Skretkowicz, however, momentum swung.

Heavyweight Matt Feast reversed the Quakers' fortunes with a 10-0 major decision over Dan Garay. The win was the first in a string of four, but the deficit was too great for Penn to overcome.

"Against Hofstra, we didn't come out nearly as aggressive as we expected," Reina said. "We wanted to come out aggressive [Sunday] and push the pace of the match."

Mission accomplished.

The Quakers started fast against Penn State, with Valenti's aforementioned 7-2 decision.

The momentum stopped almost immediately. A major decision by the Nittany Lions' No. 4 Josh Moore over sophomore Matt Eveleth was followed by another Red and Blue loss. The Quakers' No. 11 Doug McGraw was upset by Marat Tomaev, 5-3, at 141 pounds.

Although the meet was out of reach by the time the heavyweights met, the match elicited interest because it pitted Penn State's Pat Cummins against Feast. It was the fourth time this season that the No. 2 and 3 big bodies met.

After three previous losses in a row, Feast finally came out on top, 6-5.

"I beat him last year so it wasn't a new experience," Feast said. "It was actually relieving. The last couple losses were down to the wire and pretty frustrating.

"I came out really strong. then he started to come back a little bit. Next time, I don't want that to happen -- not against him, not against anyone."

It was critical for Feast and Valenti to show well over the weekend. There are just three weeks until the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships.

Facing Hofstra and Penn State was good preparation for both the EIWAs and NCAA Nationals, to be held March 18-20.

"What we're trying to accomplish with the schedule is to have our guys see national level competition at the end of the season," Reina said. "They need to be prepared for NCAAs.

"Valenti and Feast made the most of that challenge."

And despite the letdowns in the team scores, the Quakers realize that the loss margins were narrow. One or two matches in their favor would have tipped the scale.

"It wasn't overwhelmingly discouraging because we wrestled well," Valenti said. "It's disappointing because I think most of us know that we could and can win those matches.

"But overall, we wrestled well as a team. Most of the guys left it out on the mat, and you can't ask much more than that."

Hofstra 20, PENN 17

125 -- No. 6 Valenti def. No. 4 Noto, MD; 10-1

133 -- Protz won by forfeit

141 -- No. 14 McGraw def. Manarte, D; 7-5 (SV)

149* -- Strouse def Hitschler, MD;12-2

157 -- Vondruska def. Vanderveer, D; 5-3

165 -- Everett def. Ferguson, MD;16-6

174 -- Thompson def. Hallahan, D; 7-3

184 -- Christie def. Bullock, D; 9-4

197 -- No. 5 Skretkowicz def. No. 16 Schontube, D;6-3

285 -- No. 3 Feast def. Garay, MD 10-0

Penn State 21, PENN 15

125* -- No. 5 Valenti def. No. 10 A. Smith, D;7-2

133 -- No. 4 Moore def. M. Eveleth, MD; 10-3

141 -- Tomaev def. No. 14 McGraw, D;5-3

149 -- No. 10 Storniolo pinned Hitschler, 2:51

157 -- Woodall def. Vanderveer, D 9-7

165 -- Bernholz def. Turner, D; 3-1

174 -- Yonushonis def. Hallahan, D; 11-7

184 -- No. 7 Bradley def. Bullock 9-3

197 -- No. 16 Schontube won by medical forfeit

285 -- No. 3 Feast def. No. 2 Cummins, D;6-5

* Indicates first bout wrestled in the match

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