From the student paper at U of Pennsylvania
Grapplers have roller coaster 10 days
Disappointing finish at Midlands followed by solid win, bad loss
By ilario huober
January 10, 2005
For most students, winter break was a much needed chance to take it easy and recuperate before the spring semester. Not for the Penn wrestling team.
Between Dec. 29 and Jan. 7, the No. 22 Quakers endured a Midwest road trip in which they took part in three separate competitions.
The team opened the trip with a 13th place finish out of a 60-team field at the two-day Midland Championships in Evanston, Ill. Just five days into the new year, they began the dual-meet season on a positive note, beating Purdue 24-16.
The Red and Blue knew it was in for a challenge at its last stop. On Jan. 7, the team clashed with the No. 14 Central Michigan Chippewas. The trip did not end well for the Quakers, who came away with a 34-3 loss.
The Red and Blue hoped to begin the road trip positively, but the team found itself disappointed with their 13th place finish at the Midlands.
“Overall, I didn’t feel like we had the kind of strong team performance that we were capable of, “Penn coach Roger Reina said.
Still, finishing 13th our of 60 deserves its fair share of credit, especially considering the high profile programs in attendance. Eight of the top 10 finishing teams at the meet were members of the Top 25 Coaches Poll.
In addition, the Quakers did get some strong individual performances. Senior Matt Feast finished 2nd in the 285 weight class, making it to the finals after comfortably defeating Central Michigan’s Bill Stouffer in the semifinals, 12-5.
In the finals, however, No. 6 ranked Feast found himself pitted against No. 5 Pat DeGain of Indiana. Feast lost the match, 5-3, but his second-place finish is still the highest he has ever placed at the Midlands during his collegiate career.
The only other Penn wrestler to place was senior Jeff Eveleth in the 133-pound weightclass.
“I thought we had some individual people perform well at the Midlands, including Matt Feast, getting into the finals, and Jeff Eveleth, who also placed, “Reina said. “In addition, Dustin Wiles has really been coming on during the course of the year.”
Wiles narrowly missed placing, losing in the fifth round of the consolation bracket in the 174-pound weightclass.
The biggest story of the championships for the Quakers was Matt Feast recording his 100th collegiate win. The feat has only been accomplished by five other Penn grapplers: All-Americans Brett Matter (128 wins) and Yoshi Nakamura (115 wins), Olympian Brandon Slay (110 wins), and All-American Rick Springman (109 wins).
“You’ve got an elite group of individuals that have got 100 career wins, so Matt joins some great company, “Reina said. “The challenge for him is to improve upon his performance over last year at the NCAAs and also the challenge of leading this team as we march through the dual-meet season and into the Ivy League season at the end of January.”
First, though, the Quakers would have to worry about their match against Big Ten opponent, Purdue. There, Feast continued his strong form, dispatching freshman Jake O’Brien. Feast set the example, but he was not the only Penn wrestler to contribute to the win.
Five other Quakers recorded victories against Purdue, including senior Doug McGraw’s fifth in a row in the 141-pound weightclass. In addition, sophomore Brock Wittmeyer pulled out a win despite being moved up from 157 pounds to 165 pounds.
Overall, Reina was pleased with the 24-16 win over Purdue.
“I think we had some good workouts before we went out to Purdue, and to beat a Big Ten team on the road is a strong accomplishment, “Reina said. “There were some key gut check wins that won that dual meet.”
Before the Red and Blue could get any rest, they had one more match. Its meeting with Central Michigan did not go as planned, however, and Penn was left searching for answers after being dealt a 34-3 loss.
McGraw managed to put up the lone points for Penn, staying unbeaten with his 4-2 decision over Brandon Carter in the 141-pound weightclass.
Feast, who has just beaten Central Michigan’s Stouffer at the Midlands, failed to duplicate his prior result. This time, he lost the bout, 6-4.
As the second semester begins, the Quakers will be looking to rebuild momentum and bounce back from their recent major defeat. There is some cause for optimism.
“The next day we had a few hours before the flight took off out of Chicago, “Reina said. “We found a gym there, in Chicago, and got an extra workout in off-road. Everybody had a very positive attitude and I think we’re excited to have a strong week of practice and open up our home dual meets in the Palestra on Sunday.”
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