Matt Valenti of Penn won the NCAA Div. I title as a junior last year, and enters his final NCAA Championships this weekend as a No. 2 seed. But according to both Valenti and his coach Zeke Jones, Valenti is not a defending champion.

"I don't consider Matt the defending champion," said Jones prior to the second session of wrestling on Thursday. "Nobody can take away what he won here last year. He doesn't have to defend anything. He is the returning champion. And he is back here to win another one."

Valenti said the same exact thing after his 9-3 second round win over Indiana's Andreae Hernandez. Almost word for word. But he added a little more.

"But, in terms of my approach, it is like any other time," said Valenti. "I take it one match at a time. All it is is another tournament."

Which is a bit of an understatement, because Valenti has decided to retire as a wrestler at the conclusion of this event. Valenti hopes to step off the mat on Saturday night as a two-time NCAA champion. But he says no matter what happens that he will be walking off the mat for the last time as an athlete.

Valenti finished the first day of his last tournament with two strong wins. He was pleased with how he is wrestling at this point.

"It is going well. I have some of my attacks going. It is not 100%. I try to get better as the tournament goes. That is how coach Jones wants us to do it."

Valenti does not enter this tournament unscathed, having lost a pair of early season matches. He had a November loss to No. 1 ranked Nick Simmons, 2-0, then dropped a match in early December to UT-Chattanooga's Matt Keller, 9-7 in overtime. A chance for revenge is on Valenti's mind, but only if the opportunity arises.

"I would like to wrestle them again. But I could care less. If at the end, I am on the podium and they are below me, that is all I care about," he said. 

Jones has seen Valenti's wrestling improve in the second half of the season, something he feels will make a big difference this weekend.

"Ever since the middle of January, he took it to the next level. Ever since that dual meet with Cornell (when Valenti pinned Adam Frey), he has had that look in his eyes like he had in the quarterfinals of last year's nationals. He has been on," said Jones.

Valenti came into the nationals after a dominating performance at the EIWA Championships. He opened his final NCAA Tournament with a 6-2 win over Bobby Pfennings of Oregon State.

In his second-round match against Hernandez, Valenti scored two takedowns, which sandwiched a Hernandez escape, for a 4-1 lead. Hernandez earned a second-period escape. In the third period, Valenti started on the bottom, got into a scramble, and emerged with a cradle locked up. He turned and held Hernandez for three backpoints which sealed the victory, and eventual 9-3 victory.

"The kid is very tough," said Valenti. "He beat Mack Reiter earlier in the year. I know he is a great wrestler. We wrestle the same way. I consider that an advantage for me."

Jones, an Olympic silver medalist and World champion as an athlete, is in his second season as Penn's coach. He has high praise for his "returning" champion and a growing admiration for him as a person.

"Penn and the Ivy League produce leaders for this country. Matt Valenti symbolizes Penn. He is an outstanding human being, with leadership qualities and is selfless. He's been like an additional assistant coach. He wants to help his teammates, help the staff, fill in the gaps. But, he is so humble. In a room of 100 people, you would never know he was the national champion," said Jones.

Jones points at some basic personal traits in Valenti that has led to his successes.

"His poise and confidence is very strong. It is his character. He has a strength in his moral and ethical makeup. He knows he has done the right thing. He relies on that character to keep himself steady and even. His father is an attorney. He has a family with a strong work ethic. You can tell the strength and poise come froma a good family upbringing," says Jones.

In addition to wrestling many of the world's best wrestlers in his athletic career, Jones was a U.S. Olympic freestyle coach at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. He knows a champion when he sees one, and he knows Valenti fits that mold.

"Guys who are national champions, Olympic champions, they all have unique things," said Jones. "Matt has special things. He is extremely technical. He is complete in every position. He attacks from all positions. He is extremely explosive, and can cover a lot of ground quickly."

Valenti gives praise to Jones, as well as assistant coach and 1996 Olympian Rob Eiter, for helping him improve on a daily basis.

"They have helped me tremendously. We have arguably the best lightweight coaches in the country. They have helped me to finetune my wrestling a lot."

In addition to the outstanding opportunities he has had on the mat competing for Penn, Valenti has faced the academic challenges in the classroom, where he is a history major. He takes his studies as seriously as his wrestling.

"It is very difficult," said Valenti "Time management is one of the things you have to learn. It is no easy task. It takes management of all aspects of your life."

Valenti will soon be focusing entirely on his life after wrestling, but he is not yet sure where it will lead him.

"I am still working on it," said Valenti. "But after this tournament, my career is over. I'm done competitely. I am setting up some interviews. I have the possibility of coaching in the back of my mind, but that is not my first option."

Now that the first day of his final tournament is over, Valenti will focus on day two.

"I'll try not to think about today," said Valenti. I'll look forward to tomorrow's first match. I'll watch some tape. I will try to keep my mind off it until tomorrow."

In the quarterfinals, he will face talented Mack Reiter of Minnesota, the No. 7 seed who returned to the mats after missing much of the year with an injury. Valenti knows he will need to be at his best to continue his goal of winning the tournament once again.

"He is a kid I have a lot of respect for," said Valenti.  "I give him credit for coming back from that injury. It will be a war. He is a Minnesota wrestler. We will go hard for out there for the full seven minutes."

With just two days left in his wrestling career, Valenti wants to go out on top. 

"I approach it as my last tournament," said Valenti. "I want to leave it on the mat every time. This is what I worked for my entire life."