TheMat.com Projected EIWA Finish:  1. Cornell  2. Lehigh  3. Harvard  4. Pennsylvania  5. Navy  6. Brown  7. Rutgers  8. Columbia  9. Princeton  10. Army  11. Franklin & Marshall  12. East Stroudsburg  13. American    Over the course of the past five seasons, the EIWA has established itself as possibly the third best conference in the country, and it is quickly moving forward. Schools such as Pennsylvania, Lehigh, Harvard, Columbia and the rest have all become major players on the recruiting front, and national champions are now expected out of this conference. Last year it was Lehigh's turn with Rob Rohn (184) capturing an NCAA title and Jon Trenge (197) earning runner-up honors. Who's turn will it be this year?    Cornell and Lehigh are the two best teams in the conference on paper. Cornell returns All-Americans Travis Lee (125) and Clint Wattenberg (184) along with four other NCAA qualifiers. This lineup is loaded with talent and experience. Lehigh, on the other hand, will rely heavily on youth. Outside of NCAA runner-up Jon Trenge (197), only one other NCAA qualifier returns, Mario Stuart (125). Four freshmen could grace this lineup, but all four have proven themselves as solid competition in past open tournaments.    Harvard will ride the wave of All-American Jesse Jantzen (149), but this team is strong from 141-174. They have a lot of experience and a lot of talent as well. This team could finish in the top two in the conference. Pennsylvania lost a lot from its lineup last year to be considered a major EIWA title contender. This team is strongest in the upper weights, but should be led by junior Mason Lenhard (125). Also expect Matt Herrington (174) to have a major impact this season.    Navy returns All-American candidate Steve Kovach (285) to the lineup this year. Sophomores Mike Simon (133) and Pat Lukanich (149) will be relied upon heavily by coaches this season to continuously provide a boost. They need to solve some issues at 174 and 184, but this is a solid team that should place high in this conference. Brown brings back three NCAA qualifiers, but there are a lot of question marks early on with this team. Will Peter Mosley (197) turn into the star coaches think he can? Will 125 and 133 be the weak points of this team? These should be answered early on, but the answers may not be favorable to the Bears.    Rutgers loses an All-American and returns two NCAA qualifiers. Ryan McGrath (197) needs to step up for this team, but sophomores Andrew Tilles (133) and Chris Ressa (165) could be the stars of this team by the end of the season. Columbia is doing great things, but they are still a year or two away from competing for a conference title. Freshmen Ricky Turk (141), Matt Palmer (165) and Kirk Davis (184) will be the cornerstones of this program.    Princeton is getting better, but they need more talented depth in order to run with the big boys of the EIWA. NCAA runner-up Greg Parker (184) will move up one weight this year. This should help the team, but how it helps him individually remains to be seen. Army returns two EIWA placewinners, including runner-up Phillip Simpson (141), who is a solid All-American candidate this season. This lineup is young and unproven outside of Simpson and a couple of others, especially at the upper weights. They could place near the top half of the conference, but with so little experience, that may be a high expectation.    Franklin & Marshall brings back all ten starters from last year, but that does not mean they will compete for a conference title. Some of their returnees will shift weights this year. This team will be much improved over last year and be more competitive as well. East Stroudsburg could finish last since they lost their top two point-scorers from last year. A solid freshman class will help this squad rebuild, but it will be tough to be competitive. American begins their first season of EIWA competition this year, and it should be a tough one. With only 11 wrestlers on their roster, this team is hurting. They will be strongest in the upper weights, but it may not be strong enough.    TEAM PREVIEWS:  American  Army  Brown  Columbia  Cornell  East Stroudsburg  Franklin & Marshall  Harvard  Lehigh  Navy  Pennsylvania  Princeton  Rutgers