PHILADELPHIA – Dual meet season opens for the University of Pennsylvania wrestling program with a pair of duals as the Quakers head to Rider (Thursday, 7 p.m.) before taking to The Palestra for their home opener against Maryland (Sunday, 4 p.m.).
 
Penn (0-0) at Rider (0-0)  |  November 29  |  7 p.m.  |  Alumni Gymnasium
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Penn (0-0) vs. Maryland (0-0)  |  December 2  |  4 p.m.  | The Palestra
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Penn's Probable Lineup
125: Carmen Ferrante, Fr. (7-3)
133: Doug Zapf, Fr. (3-4)
141: Grant Aronoff, Fr. (3-2)
149: No. 20 Anthony Artalona, Fr. (8-1)
157: Joe Oliva, Sr. (1-1) or Jon Errico, Jr. (3-2)
165: Evan DeLuise, So. (4-4)
174: Jake Hendricks, Fr. (2-4) or Brian Krasowski, Jr. (0-2)
184: Ryan Farber, So. (1-5)
197: Patrik Garren, Sr. (0-1) or Tyler Hall, Sr. (0-2)
285: Ben Goldin, Fr. (2-4)
 
Rider's Probable Lineup
125: Jonathan Tropea, Jr. (8-1)
133: Anthony Cefolo, Sr. (4-2) or Herb Edwards, So. (3-4)
141: Travis Layton, So. (6-4)
149: Evan Fidelibus, Jr. (4-3)
157: Gino Fluri, Sr. (6-4) or Gary Dinmore, Jr. (1-4)
165: Jesse Dellavecchia, Jr. (6-1)
174: Dean Sherry, Sr. (6-3) or George Walton, Fr. (8-5)
184: Mike Fagg-Daves, Sr. (6-3)
197: Ethan Laird, So. (6-4)
285: Ryan Cloud, Sr. (0-0) or James Brady, So. (3-5)
 
Maryland's Probable Lineup
125: Brandon Cray, So. (1-2) or King Sandoval, Fr. (2-2)
133: Orion Anderson, Fr. (3-4)
141: Michael Doetsch, So. (5-1)
149: No. 18 Alfred Bannister, Sr. (5-0)
157: Adam Whitesell, Sr. (4-4) or Jahi Jones, Jr. (1-2)
165: Idris White, Jr. (1-2) or Phil Spadafora, Fr. (5-3)
174: Josh Ugalde, Jr. (0-2)
184: Kyle Jasenski, Fr. (5-2) or Niko Cappello, So. (2-4)
197: David-Brian Whisler, Jr. (3-2)
285: No. 4 Youssif Hemida, Sr. (0-0) or Mansur Abdul-Malik, So. (0-2)
 
All-Time Vs. Rider
The Quakers are 5-4 all-time against Rider, but have dropped each of the last four meetings dating back to 2014. The Quakers are 2-2 all-time at Rider.
 
All-Time Vs. Maryland
The Red and Blue are 4-5 all-time against the Terrapins, but have not wrestled since the 2013-14 season. That last meeting was a 19-13 win for Penn in College Park. The Quakers are 2-1 all-time against Maryland in The Palestra
 
Artalona Cracks National Rankings
Freshman Anthony Artalona has entered the national rankings for the first time in his career, entering the week ranked No. 20 by InterMat and No. 21 by Trackwrestling. Artalona is 8-1 overall this season and has placed first (MSU Open) and third (Keystone Classic) in his first two collegiate tournaments. His lone loss was a close decision to Duke's Mitch Finesilver – now the No. 7 wrestler in the country at 149 pounds. Artalona is Penn's first freshman to earn a national ranking since Micah Burak did so in 2009-10.
 
Dual Debuts
Based off Penn's expected lineup for the week, it is likely that six Quakers make their dual meet debuts for the Red and Blue. Carmen Ferrante, Doug Zapf, Grant Aronoff, Jake Hendricks and Ben Goldin each join Artalona as freshmen set to compete in their first dual meets. That group is 25-18 to start their careers.
 
Old Faces In New Places
Four of Penn's expected competitors this weekend are sliding into new weights for 2018-19. Senior Joe Oliva is up to 157 pounds after starting all of last season at 149. Also up from 149 pounds is Evan DeLuise, he is 4-4 at 165 pounds this season, already surpassing his win total from all of 2017-18. A pair of seniors have dropped a weigh – both Patrik Garren and Tyler Hall have moved down to 197 from heavyweight.
 
Reconnecting With Rider
The Quakers and Broncs both competed at the Keystone Classic in The Palestra November 19, setting the stage for a few potential rematches on Thursday night. The most anticipated rematch is at 125 where Rider's Jonathan Tropea defeated Penn's Carmen Ferrante, 7-3, in the Keystone championship bout. The two N.J. natives also have a history dating back to their high school days. Other results from Keystone which may see a rematch in the dual:
141: Grant Aronoff (Penn) FALL Travis Layton (Rider), 2:55
174: Dean Sherry (Rider) MD Brian Krasowski (Penn), 18-9
197: Ethan Laird (Rider) TF Patrik Garren (Penn), 16-0
285: Ben Goldin (Penn) DEC James Brady (Rider), 4-2
 
Regarding Rider
The Broncs return two NCAA qualifiers in Dean Sherry (174) and Mike Fagg-Daves (184) after graduating three NCAA qualifiers, including All-Americans B.J. Clagon and Chad Walsh … The Broncs were 13-5 in dual meets last season, going 5-1 on home mats.
 
Maryland Musings
The Terps are expected to have two of their three Top-20 wrestlers in the lineup this weekend, led by No. 4 Youssif Hemida at heavyweight … Hemida has not competed this season, but with good reason – he recently earned a silver medal at 125 kilos at the U23 World Championships … Hemida is a two-time NCAA qualifier who finished eighth in 2018 to earn All-American honors … Alfred Bannister is ranked No. 18 by InterMat this week at 149 pounds … A two-time NCAA qualifier, Bannister was 24-7 last year with an 11-0 record in dual meets … Bannister opened his season with a 5-0 performances at the Princeton Open to win the 149-pound title.