PHILADELPHIA – Penn Wrestling competed at the 2021 MatMen Open. The two-day tournament was created to replace the canceled Midlands Championships. The MatMen Open took place at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
 
As a team Penn placed second with 118 points, just 3.5 points behind its next opponent on the schedule, Pittsburgh (121.5).

"We had quite a few breakthroughs, both individually and programmatically at the MatMen Open," said head coach Roger Reina. "I am pleased with the effort and forward progress, as we continue to climb the national rankings." 

After the first session, Penn led the field of teams with 11 grapplers advancing to the quarterfinals. Penn had at least one wrestler advance to the quarterfinals in each weight class.
 
Ryan Miller (125), CJ Composto (141), and Doug Zapf (157) all advanced to the finals of their respective weight class.

"First, I am very grateful that we were able to wrestle the past few days, and thank you to all that made the 2021 MatMen Open happen," said Zapf. "I have lofty goals for this year and recognize that I need to improve upon certain areas in order to achieve them. Heading into our dual meet season, I am even more motivated and excited for this team. I believe we are not even close to reaching our full potential.

Composto earned a trio of take downs of #24 Cole Matthews (Pitt) to put himself in the final bout at 141 pounds.  
 
"It was a good week with my teammates," said Composto. "I like to travel to new places and Illinois was pretty nice. It was cool to see some snow for the first time in a while. We are grateful for our coaches for getting us ready to compete."

Blair Orr earned his first victory against an NCAA qualifier as he defeated Northern Illinois' Bryce West by a 3-2 decision.

Team Standings 

1. Pittsburgh - 121.5
2. Penn - 118.0
3. Wisconsin - 117.0
4. Illinois - 105.0
5. Rutgers - 94.0
6. Northern Illinois - 61.0
7. Cal Poly - 57.0
8. Lehigh - 50.5
9. Purdue - 49.0
10. Michigan - 47.5
11. Harvard - 44.0
12. Campbell - 37.5
13. Bucknell - 35.0
14. Oregon State - 19.5
15. Pennsylvania Rtc - 18.0
16. Bloomsburg - 17.5
17. Brown - 17.5
18. Princeton - 17.0
19. North Central - 14.5
20. Northern Iowa - 13.0
21. Franklin & Marshall - 6.5

125: Ryan Miller (3-1)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Drew West (Northern Illinois), 11-1
Quarterfinals: def. Blake West (Norther Illinois), 9-3
Semifinals: def. Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), 5-3 SV1
Finals (first place): lost to Justin Cardani (Illinois), 4-3
 
125: Blair Orr (5-3)
Round of 32: def. Colton Camacho (Pitt), 12-4
Round of 16: lost to Zurich Storm (CU), 4-2 SV1
Consolation Round 2: def. Luqman Masud (unmatched), 4-0
Consolation Round 3: def. Bryce West (Northern Illinois), 3-2
Consolation Round 4: def. Blake West (Northern Illinois), 6-3
Consolation Round 5: def. Lucian Brink (Northern Illinois),
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly), 7-4
Consolation Finals (fifth place): lost to Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), 12-3
 
133: Michael Colaiocco (2-2)
Round of 32: def. Ethan Rotondo (Wisconsin), 15-8
Round of 16: def. Abe Hinrichsen (Cal Poly), TF 6:19
Quarterfinals: lost to Drew Mattin (Michigan), 10-3
Consolation Round 4: lost to Kurt Phipps (Bucknell), 9-4
 
141: Carmen Ferrante (2-3)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Timothy Levine (Brown), 13-4
Quarterfinals: lost to Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin), 5-2
Consolation Round 4: def. Jaivon Jones (Northern Illinois), 4-2 OT
Consolation Round 5: lost to Mckenzie Bell (U-Rider), 4-1
Consolation Finals (fifth place): lost to We Rachel (Illinois), F 2:56
 
141: CJ Composto (3-1)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Henry Porter (Unattached), 10-0
Quarterfinals: def. Parker Filius (Purdue), 9-1
Semifinals: def. Cole Matthews (Pitt), 7-5
Finals (first place): lost to Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers), TF 5:33
 
149: Anthony Artalona (4-1)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Christian Kanzler (Illinois), 8-3
Quarterfinals: def. Max Brignola (Lehigh), 6-3
Semifinals: lost to Austin Gomez (Wisconsin), 17-4
Consolation Semifinals: def. Lukas Stricker (Harvard), 2-1
Consolation Finals (third place): def. Anthony White (U-Rutgers), 3-1
 
149: Kaya Sement (0-2)
Round of 32: lost to Dan Mancini (Pitt), 6-2
Consolation Round 1: Bye
Consolation Round 2: lost to Al Desantis (Rutgers), 7-2
 
149: Vincent Mannella (0-2)
Round of 32: lost to Christian Kanzler (Illinois), 9-7
Consolation Round 1: Bye
Consolation Round 2: lost to Luke Stricker (Harvard), 6-0
 
157: Doug Zapf (3-1)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Joseph Roberts (Illinois), 13-4
Quarterfinals: def. Garrett Model (Wisconsin), 9-6
Semifinals: def. Alex Carida (Bloomsburg), 3-1
Finals: lost to Elijah Cleary (Pitt), 9-8
  
165: Lucas Revano (3-3)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Michael Caliendo (U-NDSU), 3-2
Quarterfinals: lost to Zach Hartman (Bucknell), 4-3
Consolation Round 4: def. Blaine Bergey (Princeton), 11-4
Consolation Round 5: def. Dan Braungel (Illinois), 6-4 SV1
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Jake Wentzel (Pitt), 4-0
Consolation Finals (fifth place): lost to Zach Hartman (Bucknell), 7-0
 
165: Mikey Kistler (0-2)
Round of 32: lost to Jake Marsh (Princeton), F 4:29
Consolation Round 1: Bye
Consolation Round 2: lost to Andrew Clark (Rutgers), F 4:50
 
174: Nick Incontrera (3-2)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Trey Sizemore (Illinois), TF 6:16
Quarterfinals: lost to Edmond Ruth (U-Lehigh), 4-3
Consolation Round 4: def. Michael Doggett (Harvard), TF 3:31
Consolation Round 5: lost to Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue), 3-0
Consolation Finals (seventh place): def. Josh Kim (Harvard), 8-0
 
184: Neil Antrassian (2-3)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Chris Weiler (Wisconsin), 8-6
Quarterfinals: lost to Myles Amine (Michigan), 7-1
Consolation Round 4: def. Dylan Connell (U-Illinois), 8-5
Consolation Round 5: lost to Trey Munoz (Oregon State), 11-4
Consolation Finals (seventh place): lost to Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 8-3
 
184: Mark Hall (3-1)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Nikita Nepomnyashchiy (Illinois), FOR
Quarterfinals: def. Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 10-4
Semifinals: def. Bernie Traux (Cal Poly), 7-3
Finals (first place): lost to Myles Amine (Michigan), 4-2
 
197: Cole Urbas (4-2)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Trent Tracy (Cal Poly), 6-2
Quarterfinals: lost to Ryan Reyes (Oregon State), 4-2
Consolation Round 4: def. Kolby Franklin (Unattached), 6-0
Consolation Round 5: def. Levi Hopkins (Campbell), 12-2
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) TF 6:20
Consolation Finals (fifth place): def. Ryan Reyes (Oregon State), FFT
 
285: Ben Goldin (3-2)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: def. Mike Bosco (Illinois), TF 7:00
Quarterfinals: lost to Luke Luffman (Illinois), 6-2
Consolation Round 4: def. Peter Christensen (U-Wisconsin), 12-3
Consolation Round 5: lost to Nathan Taylor (Lehigh), 6-1
Consolation Finals (seventh place): def. Boone Modermott (Rutgers), 6-4 SV1
 
Penn will return to the mat for a dual meet at Pitt on January 9.