Third-year head coach Alex Tirapelle picked up his first career win over a Top-25 opponent, knocking off No. 15 Stanford -- the program Tirapelle had been an assistant coach at before taking the reins at Penn -- 19-17, in an exciting dual meet at The Palestra.
The dual came down to the wire -- both in terms of team score and individual score. A large lead for the Quakers after four bouts had been erased, and Penn found itself trailing by one with just the 157-pound match remaining.
May Bethea had the dual on his shoulders, and delivered with an 8-7 decision over Paul Fox to help Penn end a 15-match losing streak against Top-25 opponents dating back to a 21-12 win at Lehigh in the 2012-13 season.
Bethea sandwiched two takedowns around a Fox reversal in the first period to build a 5-2 lead, and was able to defend a Fox scoring attempt in the final 15 seconds, sprawling until the final buzzer to elicit a roar from The Palestra crowd.
The Red and Blue had stormed out to a 13-0 lead over the Cardinal on the strength of four consecutive victories to open the dual. However, the Cardinal would respond with four wins of their own to take a 17-13 lead with two bouts to go. The final win in that run for the Cardinal was a pin from All-American No. 3 Joey McKenna in the first period at 141, seemingly giving the Cardinal all the momentum.
Joe Oliva would halt that momentum with a 4-0 win at 149, scoring the bout's only takedown in the first period, and building a huge riding time edge to defeat Tommy Pawelski and close Penn within one to setup Bethea's heroics.
Brooks Martino started the meet with a Top-20 win, scoring a takedown just before the buzzer to complete his comeback from a 5-1 deficit and knock off No. 18 Keaton Subjeck, 6-5.
Martino's win was followed by a major decision from No. 11 Casey Kent. Kent had a takedown and four points of nearfall in the first period en route to a 10-3 win over Peter Galli. Joe Heyob would follow with a 6-2 decision over Zach Nevills, scoring takedowns in each of the first two periods.
No. 15 Frank Mattiace won the only Top-20 bout of the afternoon, edging No. 20 Josh Marchock, 3-2. Mattiace scored the only takedown of the match in the second period, and his escape in the third was the difference.
After Mattiace's win, the Cardinal would take the next four bouts, but for the most part the Quakers steered clear of excessive bonus points as Stanford hit the strength of its lineup. No. 10 Nathan Butler managed a major decision against Tyler Hall, 10-1, at heavyweight but No. 14 Gabriel Townsell ran into a feisty Jeremy Schwartz who held the higher-ranked wrestler to a 6-2 decision. At 133, Peter Russo led 8-0 after two periods against Tristin DeVincenzo, but the Red and Blue only conceded the 9-0 major which made McKenna's pin at 141 only worth a four-point lead - one the Quakers were able to overcome.
The win over the Cardinal was the first of the 2016-17 season for Penn, and erased a sour taste left after an 18-14 loss to EIWA foe Army West Point in the day's first dual.
The two sides traded the lead back and forth in the early portion of the meet before the Black Knights rattled off four wins in a row to build an 18-10 lead with two matches to go.
Kent, Mattiace, OIiva and Bethea each had wins against the Black Knights, with Kent (8-0) and Bethea (12-4) scoring major decisions.
Kent picked up his major decision over Ben Harvey with four backpoints and riding time in the third period to break open a 3-0 bout. Bethea went the takedown route, scoring five and adding 2:11 of riding time to defeat Mark Marchetti.
Frank Mattiace picked up another close win, scoring a takedown with 0:02 left in the first period to defeat Rocco Caywood, 3-1. Joe Oliva notched a reversal in the second and a takedown in the third period for his 4-0 decision.
Army West Point's decisive points came at 165 and 184. Andrew Mendel knocked off Martino, 10-5, scoring a pair of takedowns in the third period to widen his lead. At 184 pounds, Samson Imonode had a takedown in each period to defeat Heyob, 8-4.
The Quakers had a shot to climb back into the match at 133, but Tristin DeVincenzo ran out of time in a 6-5 loss to Conner Ziegler. DeVincenzo had conceded three takedowns in the first period, but had closed to 6-5 after two periods. Ziegler chose neutral, and DeVincenzo was very close to a takedown in the final seconds, but time ran out before he could close the deal.
The Red and Blue are back in action on January 20, heading to No. 8 Lehigh. Penn returns to The Palestra on January 21, hosting Lock Haven in the program's first home "Beauty and the Beast" event alongside the Penn gymnastics team at noon.
Penn 19, No. 17 Stanford 17
165 - Brooks Martino (Penn) DEC No. 18 Keaton Subjeck (Stanford), 6-5 Penn leads, 3-0
174 - No. 11 Casey Kent MD Peter Galli (Stanford), 10-2 Penn leads, 7-0
184 - Joe Heyob (Penn) DEC Zach Nevills (Stanford), 6-2 Penn leads, 10-0
197 - No. 15 Frank Mattiace (Penn) DEC No. 20 Josh Marchock (Stanford), 3-2 Penn leads, 13-0
285 - No. 10 Nathan Butler (Stanford) MD Tyler Hall (Penn), 10-1 Penn leads, 13-4
125 - No. 14 Gabriel Townsell (Stanford) DEC Jeremy Schwartz (Penn), 6-2 Penn leads, 13-7
133 - Peter Russo (Stanford) MD Tristin DeVincenzo (Penn), 9-0 Penn leads, 13-11
141 - No. 3 Joey McKenna (Stanford) FALL A.J. Vindici (Penn), 0:50 Stanford leads, 17-13
149 - Joe Oliva (Penn) DEC Tommy Pawelski (Stanford), 4-0 Stanford leads, 17-16
157 - May Bethea (Penn) DEC Paul Fox (Stanford), 8-7 Penn leads, 19-17
Army West Point 18, Penn 14
165 - Andrew Mendel (AWP) DEC Brooks Martino (Penn), 10-5 Army leads, 3-0
174 - No. 11 Casey Kent MD Ben Harvey (AWP), 8-0 Penn leads, 4-3
184 - Samson Imonode (AWP) DEC Joe Heyob (Penn), 8-4 Army leads, 6-4
197 - No. 20 Frank Mattiace (Penn) DEC Rocco Caywood (AWP), 3-1 Penn leads, 7-6
285 - Trevor Smith (AWP) DEC Tyler Hall (Penn), 5-0 Army leads, 9-7
125 - Trey Chalifoux (AWP) DEC Jeremy Schwartz (Penn), 7-2 Army leads, 12-7
133 - Conner Ziegler (AWP) DEC Tristin DeVincenzo (Penn), 6-5 Army leads, 15-7
141 - No. 16 Logan Everett (AWP) DEC A.J. Vindici (Penn), 10-4 Army leads, 18-7
149 - Joe Oliva (Penn) DEC Luke Weiland (AWP), 4-0 Army leads, 18-10
157 - May Bethea (Penn) DEC Mark Marchetti (AWP), 12-4 Army leads, 18-14
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