State College, Pa., June 17, 2004 - Penn State will host the PA State Dual Championships in Rec Hall to kickoff the 2004-05 wrestling season. The event is among nine dual meets Penn State will wrestle in Rec Hall and a highlight of the 2004-05 Nittany Lion wrestling schedule released Thursday by head coach Troy Sunderland.

Coming off a 14-5 dual meet campaign last year, the best in Sunderland's six seasons, Penn State will hold its annual Varsity Wrestle-offs on Sun., Oct. 31, and then start the dual meet campaign Sun., Nov. 14, in Rec Hall as they host a new competition that will pit eight dual meet teams from Pennsylvania against each other in a one day championship event. The first PA State Dual Championships will feature teams from Clarion, Lehigh, Slippery Rock, Lock Haven, Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Mercyhurst, York College (PA) and Penn State in a double-elimination bracket.

In the fall semester, Penn State will also make return trips to the East Stroudsburg Open (Nov. 20), Lock Haven's Mat-Town Classic (Nov. 27) and the Midlands tournament (Dec. 29-30). The Nittany Lion Open (Dec. 5) in Rec Hall and a dual meet engagement at Edinboro (Dec. 12) round out the fall.

Penn State will hit the dual meet schedule full force in the spring semester starting with three straight dual meets in Rec Hall. The string will start with a showdown with rival Lehigh on Fri, Jan. 7. Penn State upset the then No. 3 ranked Mountain Hawks, 19-15, on their home mat last year. The match with Lehigh is one of eight scheduled clashes for Penn State with teams ranked in the final InterMat Top 25 last season. The Nittany Lions will continue the run of home meets with a double-dual against West Virginia and Pittsburgh on Jan. 9. Other home engagements on the year include Big Ten matches with Indiana (Jan. 28), Purdue (Jan. 30), Iowa (Feb. 4) and Ohio State (Feb. 18) and match with regional rival Lock Haven (Feb. 8). All home matches except Ohio State will be held in Rec Hall. The Ohio State match will be held in the Bryce Jordan Center due to a conflict with the Penn State Dance Marathon.

Road matches for the Nittany Lions include trips to Michigan (Jan. 14), Michigan State (Jan. 15), Illinois (Feb. 11) and Northwestern (Feb. 12). Penn State will also return to compete in the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Team Dual Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, Jan. 22-23. The Nittany Lions finished fourth in the event last year.

The Big Ten Championships will be held March 5-6 at the University of Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the NCAA Championships will return again to St. Louis' Savvis Center, March 18-20. Penn State finished fifth in the Big Ten Championships and 12th in the NCAA Championships last year.

2004-05 Penn State Wrestling Schedule Oct. 31 Varsity Wrestle-offs 1:00 p.m. Nov. 14 PA State Dual Championships All Day Nov. 20 at East Stroudsburg Open All Day Nov. 27 at Mat-Town Classic All Day Dec. 5 Nittany Lion Open All Day Dec. 12 at Edinboro 1:00 p.m. Dec. 29-30 at Midlands Tournament All Day Jan. 7 Lehigh 7:00 p.m. Jan. 9 West Virginia & 1:00 p.m. Pittsburgh 3:00 p.m. Jan. 14 at Michigan 7:00 p.m. Jan. 15 at Michigan State 7:00 p.m. Jan. 22-23 Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals All Day Jan. 28 Indiana 7:00 p.m. Jan. 30 Purdue 1:00 p.m. Feb. 4 Iowa 7:00 p.m. Feb. 8 Lock Haven 7:00 p.m. Feb. 11 at Illinois 7:00 p.m. Feb. 12 at Northwestern 7:00 p.m. Feb. 18 Ohio State (BJC) 7:00 p.m. Mar. 5-6 at Big Ten Championships Iowa City, Iowa Mar. 18-20 NCAA Championships St. Louis, Mo.