Five wrestlers bid farewell to Rec Hall after Penn State's (11-6) last home matches of the season on Sunday.

The Lions, ranked No. 7 by Amateur Wrestling News, will compete in two Eastern Wrestling League matchups, against Pittsburgh (3-6, 0-3 in the EWL) at noon, followed by a battle for the EWL's top spot with No. 14 West Virginia (8-1, 2-0)

Jim Abbott, Mike Bevilacqua, Jeff Ellis, Greg Haladay and John Yankanich will be honored prior to the Pittsburgh match for their five years of participation in the wrestling program. Bevilacqua (25-4-3), Ellis (12-5) and No. 5 Haladay (22-3-1) start for the squad at 142, 190 and heavyweight, respectively.

"This is my last chance to wrestle here in Rec Hall," Haladay said. "It's a scary feeling. It's all coming down to the wire. I can still remember my first match here as I'm sure I'll remember my last match forever."

Penn State is currently defending a 55-game winning streak against EWL opponents. Also, Coach Rich Lorenzo, in his 12th season, is looking to surpass the 150-win plateau this weekend.

The Lions have lost only two matches in four seasons at Rec Hall and are striving for an eighth-consecutive home win.

"Wrestling at Rec Hall, it's like being on your own turf," 126-pounder Jeff Prescott (12-2-1) said. "It's like saying, 'Your're on our turf and you don't belong here and we're going to take your head and drag it from one end to the other.' "

The Mountaineers will probably be the toughest competition Penn State will meet in the EWL this season, Lorenzo said. West Virginia boasts No. 7 Dominic Black (19-2), who will face Adam Mariano (16-5-2) at 177; and No. 10 Scott Collins (18-2), who will face either Evilacqua or Peter Horst (23-8-2) at 142. The Mountaineers' only loss has come from No. 2 Arizona.

"They're real balanced, they have excellent personnel in every weight class," Lorenzo said. "What makes them so tough is they don't have any holes in any of their weight classes. This team has as good of a chance at beating Penn State as any EWL team has."

Pitt is rebuilding and struggling this season, Lorenzo said.

"They still have some excellent personnel," he added.

The Panthers' two top wrestlers are probably 142-pounder Alan Utter (26-8-1) and 118-pounder Bob Simpson (22-10), who will wrestle Shawn Nelson (16-11).

The Lions will also start Tom Barley (8-7) at 134, Tim Wittman (2-7) at 150, Mark Verratti (12-12) at 158 and Jason Suter (18-6-1) at 167. Bob Truby, who dropped to 126, will not wrestle this weekend because of a knee injury suffered last weekend. Prescott, who said he will drop to 118 before the EWL tournament, remains at 126.

Penn State is coming off two embarrassing losses to No. 3 Iowa, 33-3, and No. 6 Iowa State, 21-12, last weekend. Against Iowa, Mariano was the only Penn State wrestler to win.

"I think we had a couple of lessons shown to us," Ellis said. "I was really bummed out at first but now I know what I have to do."

"There's a new attitude now," Haladay added. "It's let's not talk; let's work. There's a new seriousness."

"They've taken (the losses) very mature, very logical," Lorenzo said. "They realize it's behind them and they have to learn from it. I don't see anyone hanging their head, and I like them for that, I appreciate that."