After three years at Penn, wrestling coach Alex Tirapelle announced his immediate resignation on Wednesday morning.
Credit: Guyrandy Jean-GIlles , Guyrandy Jean-GIllesPenn wrestling coach Alex Tirapelle has tendered his resignation, Penn Athletics announced Wednesday morning.
No motivation was given for the sudden resignation, and an immediate successor was not announced.
The move was made public Wednesday morning, following a team meeting held by Tirapelle Tuesday afternoon and an email from a Penn administrator going out to team parents later that day. His resignation represents the first departure of a head coach hired under current athletic director Grace Calhoun, who brought Tirapelle to the program in July 2014, a month after taking over the job.
Tirapelle experienced some success in University City, logging a 21-18 record in dual meets and coaching Frank Mattiace this year to the Quakers' first EIWA title since 2013 this season. Fourteen grapplers made it to the NCAA Tournament under Tirapelle, with Casey Kent taking fourth place and earning All-American status at the 2016 Tournament. Penn's marquee team win under the former All-American came this past January, when the Quakers knocked off No. 17 Stanford for their first win over a ranked opponent since 2013.
Tirapelle came to University City after two years as an assistant at UC Davis and four at Stanford. He was also a two-time All-American himself, winning two Big Ten titles at Illinois.
Penn Athletics declined to comment beyond Wednesday morning's press release.
This story was last updated at 12:15 PM.
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