LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Any motion needs a starting point, and Penn Wrestling's 2018-19 movement set its first beacon -- one hopefully reflected on at the season's end as a first setback in a stellar comeback -- in a 20-18 loss at Rider.
 
 A young Penn lineup – seven of 10 starters were in their first dual meet as freshmen – saw some expected ups and downs. On the plus side, all four of the Red and Blue's wins came from true freshmen  and the Quakers rallied from a 10-6 halftime deficit to lead, 18-13, with two matches to go. On the flip side, the Red and Blue watched that lead slip away over the final two bouts.
 
Carmen Ferrante, Grant Aronoff, Anthony Artalona and Jake Hendricks each recorded their first career dual meet wins to lead the Quakers.
 
Hendricks opened the dual with a 14-9 win over returning NCAA qualifier Dean Sherry at 174 pounds. After conceding the first takedown, Hendricks rallied with two big moves in the first period. He put together a six-point throw and then followed with four more off a takedown to backs before the first period ended. Those 11 first-period points were enough to stave off Sherry's comeback attempt.
 
The Quakers would drop the next three matches to trail, 10-3. Rider's Michale Fagg-Daves scored a 17-6 major decision over Ryan Farber at 184 to give Rider the lead, and Ethan Laird's 6-1 decision over Patrick Garren at 197 extended Rider's edge to 7-3. At heavyweight, Ben Goldin conceded takedowns in the first and third periods to fall to Ryan Cloud, 5-3.
 
Penn needed a spark, and found it in the form of Carmen Ferrante. In a rematch of the Keystone Classic finals, he avenged a 7-3 loss to Jonathan Tropea with a 13-7 decision. The two had actually et six previous times including high school careers – and Ferrante finally picked up his first win in the series with a furious rally. Trailing, 4-3, after one period, Ferrante scored two quick nearfall on a suck-back to start the second and added a takedown before the end of five minutes. In the third period, he added two more takedowns to send Penn into halftime down by a score of 10-6.
 
Out of the break, it appeared the Quakers would cut further into Rider's lead, but Anthony Cefolo scored a late four-point move to stun Doug Zapf at 133 pounds, 6-4.
 
The Quakers trailed, 13-6, after the late loss but quickly found themselves back in the lead following a pair of falls from freshmen.
 
Grant Aronoff was taken down early in his 141-pound bout by Travis Layton, but he responded with a reversal and then locked in a fall at 1:30 – his second pin of Layton this season.
 
No. 20 Anthony Artalona followed with a second-period pin of Evan Fidelibus at 149 pounds. Artalona scored a quick takedown and nearfall in the first period, and he locked up the fall with a headlock toss at 4:59 to give Penn an 18-13 lead.
 
The Quakers needed a win in either of the final two bouts to secure the win, but an overtime loss at 157 and a major decision loss at 165 denied the victory. Joe Oliva led, 3-2, after one period but trailed, 5-4, after two against Gino Fluri. Oliva worked a tying escape in the third period, but a takedown from Fluri with 0:14 left in overtime cut Penn's lead to 18-16.
 
In the finale, Jesse Dellavecchia scored two takedowns in the first period before adding one in each of the final two frames to secure a 10-2 major decision over Evan DeLuise.
 
Rider 20, Penn 18
174: Jake Hendricks (Penn) DEC Dean Sherry (Rider), 14-9 Penn Leads, 3-0
184: Michale Fagg-Daves (Rider) MD Ryan Farber (Penn), 17-6 Rider leads, 4-3
197: Ethan Laird (Rider) DEC Patrik Garren (Penn), 6-1 Rider leads, 7-3
285: Ryan Cloud (Rider) DEC Ben Goldin (Penn) 5-3 Rider leads, 10-3
125: Carmen Ferrante (Penn) DEC Jonathan Tropea (Rider), 13-7 Rider leads, 10-6
133: Anthony Cefolo (Rider) DEC Doug Zapf (Penn), 6-4 Rider leads, 13-6
141: Grant Aronoff (Penn) FALL Travis Layton (Rider), 1:30 Rider leads, 13-12
149: #20 Anthony Artalona (Penn) FALL Evan Fidelibus (Rider), 4:59 Penn leads, 18-13
157: Gino Fluri (Rider) DEC Joe Oliva (Penn), 7-5 (SV) Penn leads, 18-16
165: Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) MD Evan DeLuise (Penn), 10-2 Rider leads, 20-16
 
The Quakers host Maryland on Sunday in the 2018-19 home opener at The Palestra. Opening bout is scheduled for 4 p.m.