Penn 21 Rider 15

PHILADELPHIA - The Penn wrestling team got off to a good start Saturday, defeating Rider 21-15 in the first of two matches on the day at The Palestra. The Quakers will also host Binghamton this afternoon.

Penn got off to a fast start, winning each of the first three matches by decision to take a 9-0 team lead. Mark Rappo was an 8-3 winner at 125 pounds, followed by Bryan Ortenzio at 133 (5-2) and Zack Kemmerer at 141 (5-4).

Rider got back into the match when Michael Kessler defeated Troy Hernandez at 149 pounds, 6-3, and then Matt Dragon was unable to complete his match and injury defaulted at 157. That tied the match at 9-9 at the midway point.

Gabriel Burak righted the ship for the Quakers, dominating Rob Morrison to gain a technical fall with a minute left in the third period. Following that, Scott Giffin gained a 13-0 win over Jim Resnick which put the Quakers up 18-9.

Rider got three points back at 184 pounds, as Mike Ward defeated Cory Beaver, but Micah Burak took advantage of a pre-match injury suffered by Rider's Tyler Smith and defeated the 20th-ranked wrestler in the country at 197 pounds, 6-0. That put the team score out of reach, and Ed Bordas' heavyweight win over Tyler Blakely was not enough.

Match Scores
125 - Mark Rappo (P) def. Ilyass Elmasouri (R), 8-3 (Penn 3-0)
133 - Bryan Ortenzio (P) def. Filiberto Colon (R), 5-2 (Penn 6-0)
141 - Zack Kemmerer (P) def. Aaron Nestor (R), 5-4 (Penn 9-0)
149 - Michael Kessler (R) def. Troy Hernandez (P), 6-3 (Penn 9-3)
157 - Zac Cibula (R) def. #16 Matt Dragon (P), injury default 4:20 (tied 9-9)
165 - #20 Gabriel Burak (P) def. Rob Morrison (R), tech fall 6:00 (Penn 14-9)
174 - Scott Giffin (P) def. Jim Resnick (R), 13-0 (Penn 18-9)
184 - Mike Ward (R) def. Cory Beaver (P), 8-4 (Penn 18-12)
197 - Micah Burak (P) def. #20 Tyler Smith (R), 6-0 (Penn 21-12)
285 - Ed Bordas (R) def. Tyler Blakely (P), 5-1

Penn 24 Binghamton 13

The Penn wrestling team completed a two-meet day with a 24-13 decision over Binghamton. The Quakers went 2-0 on the day, having defeated Rider earlier in the afternoon.

Mark Rappo opened the meet with a 14-7 decision over James Inghram, and then Bryan Ortenzio and Troy Hernandez sandwiched a pair of major decision wins around Zack Kemmerer's 3-1 overtime loss to Anwar Goeres.

Matt Dragon was forced to injury default earlier today against Rider, but showed grit and resolve in gaining a 13-8 win over BU's Justin Lister at 157 pounds. That was followed by Gabriel Burak's dominant performance at 165, as he used a late charge to gain a 12-2 major decision against Matt Kaylor.

Tom Timothy stepped in at 174 pounds in place of Scott Giffin and used a fast start to defeat Ryan McGarity, 6-0, but Harrison Cook was pinned at 4:17 by BU's Nate Schiedel. Micah Burak earned an 8-1 victory at 197 pounds, and Tyler Blakely closed out the day's action with a 14-6 loss to Corey Waite.

The Quakers return to action next Sunday, hosting the University of Virginia at 1 p.m. Please note that is a change from the original schedule, which had the Quakers and Cavaliers wrestling on Saturday.

PENN 24, BINGHAMTON 13

Match Scores
125 - Mark Rappo (P) def. James Inghram (B), 14-7 (Penn 3-0)
133 - Bryan Ortenzio (P) def. Robert Slavin (B), 9-1 (Penn 7-0)
141 - Anwar Goeres (B) def. Zack Kemmerer (P), 3-1 sv (Penn 7-3)
149 -Troy Hernandez (P) def. Mike Kleeman (B), 9-0 (Penn 11-3)
157 -#16 Matt Dragon (P) def. Justin Lister (B), 13-8 (Penn 14-3)
165 - #20 Gabriel Burak (P) def. Matt Kaylor (B), 12-2 (Penn 18-3)
174 - Tom Timothy (P) def. Ryan McGarity (B), 6-0 (Penn 21-3)
184 - Nate Schiedel (B) def. Harrison Cook (P), pinfall 4:13 (Penn 21-9)