PHILADELHPIA – This Saturday, Ivy League wrestling returns to The Palestra as the University of Pennsylvania grapplers are set for a double dose of Ancient Eight action. The Quakers welcome Empire State rivals, Columbia and No. 17 Cornell for their third of four EIWA doubleheaders this season.
 
Penn enters the weekend 5-4 overall, 4-1 in EIWA duals, and 2-0 in Ivy League competition. Last weekend, the Quakers opened their Ivy dual slate with a pair of wins over Harvard and Brown, extending their win streak to four duals on the trot.
 
Penn (5-4, 4-1 EIWA, 2-0 Ivy) vs. Columbia (4-3, 4-2 EIWA, 0-1 Ivy)
Saturday, Feb. 8 | 11:30 a.m. | The Palestra | NBC Sports Philadelphia+ | ESPN+ | Tickets
 
Penn (5-4, 4-1 EIWA, 2-0 Ivy) vs. No. 17 Cornell (8-5, 3-1 EIWA, 3-0 Ivy)
Saturday, Feb. 8 | 2 p.m. | The Palestra | ESPN+ | Tickets
 
Pieces about Penn

• The Quakers stayed hot in dual competition last weekend with a 19-19 win by criteria over Brown and a 22-19 win over Harvard. Penn showed its muscle in the Ivy-opening weekend with wins in 11 matches, including six bonus-point victories.
• No. 16 Doug Zapf (141), Lucas Revano (149), Neil Antrassian (174) and Cole Urbas (197) each won both of their matches last weekend and accounted for 30 of Penn's 41 points across both matches of the doubleheader.
• Penn enters the weekend with three wrestlers ranked in FloWrestling's latest poll. Michael Colaiocco checks in at No. 14, Zapf at No. 16, and Anthony Artalona at No. 14. Two more Quakers made their debut in Wrestlestat's top-33 two weeks ago. Urbas climbed to No. 26 in this week's poll while Revano remains at No. 33.
• With his pair of wins, Zapf became the first Penn wrestler to reach 20 wins this season. He is 7-1 in duals and 11-0 against EIWA grapplers.
• Urbas clinched his seventh-consecutive victory with a first-period pin against Harvard. The wins moved Urbas to 14-8 and 7-2 in duals. The freshman is currently 6-1 against EIWA wrestlers.
• Colaiocco made his return to the mat last weekend and went 1-1. In his second match of the day, he secured two takedowns in the bout's final 20 seconds to secure a 12-4 major decision and clinch the 22-19 win over Harvard. He is 15-5 on the season and 3-2 in duals.
• Penn's remaining probables with a winning record are Artalona (157, 14-6), Cam Connor (157, 13-10), Carmen Ferrante (133, 13-9), and Revano (149, 12-10).
• According to @CauliFriend on Twitter, Penn is tied with NC State for eighth among Division I programs with 23 technical falls on the season.

 
Covering Columbia

• Penn will look to avenge its 25-12 loss to the Lions last year. With some Penn wrestlers changing weight classes and Columbia wrestlers graduating, there are not any rematches set on the docket.
• Saturday's meeting marks the 116th meeting between Penn and Columbia. The Quakers hold a 73-40-2 all-time head-to-head record against The Lions and are 10-2 over the previous 12 meetings. However, things have been slightly more even as of late, with each of those two Columbia wins coming in the last four seasons.
• Columbia has had an interesting start to its season. The Lions are currently 4-3 overall and 4-2 in EIWA competition. Columbia opened its Ivy League slate with a 27-12 loss against Cornell before winning three consecutive EIWA duals. Last time out, the Lions dropped a 24-14 contest to Hofstra.
• Saturday will make for some interesting ranked matchups. Zapf will look to show his strength against Matt Kazimir—who was ranked No. 28 in the first NCAA Coaches' Panel. The two wrestlers met earlier this season, with Zapf taking a 3-1 sudden victory decision at Midlands.
• Colaiocco will also likely get the call for another ranked matchup, with No. 28 Joe Manchio listed in Columbia's probable lineup. The two wrestlers have not yet met this season.

 
Regarding the Big Red

• As has been the case for the last 18 years, Cornell has dominated the landscape of Ivy League wrestling. The Big Red enter the weekend with a 91-match Ivy League dual winning streak. The last Ivy League team to defeat Cornell? Penn, which defeated the Big Red, 21-9 on Feb 2, 2002 at The Palestra.
• Cornell has an 86-21-1 head-to-head record against The Quakers. Since the 1992-93 season, Cornell is an impressive 121-8-1 in Ivy competition. Penn is the only team close, ranking second with a 97-32-1 record. The Big Red has also won 18 consecutive Ivy League titles. It is the longest title streak of any sport in Ivy League history.
• Last year, Cornell defeated Penn, 40-3. Following a shift in weight classes and certain grapplers graduating, there are no projected rematches from last year's dual.
• There are a handful of ranked matchups to look forward to this weekend in the doubleheader's final match. At 141 pounds, No. 16 Zapf will likely face Noah Baughman, who is ranked No. 32 by The Open Mat. At 149 pounds, Revano (ranked No. 33 by Wrestlestat) will face Hunter Richard (ranked No. 28 by Wrestlestat). Urbas, ranked No. 26 by Wrestlestat, is projected to face Ben Darmstadt, ranked No. 4 by the same institution.
• Other intriguing matchups are No. 17 (NCAA Coaches' Panel) Brandon Womack vs. Neil Antrassian—who won both of his matches last weekend. NCAA Championships qualifier Carmen Ferrante is projected to take on No. 5 Chas Tucker at 133 pounds.