West Virginia won six straight matches through the middle weights to upset the wrestling team, 20-13, and end the Lions' 56-match Eastern Wrestling League unbeaten streak yesterday.

"It was great. I'm just glad I was a part of it," West Virginia 177-pounder Dominic Black said.

"I was really elated once we won," West Virginia coach Craig Turnbull said. "We've got a great group of guys and consistently all year they've wrestled really well."

Including a 31-11 victory over Pitt in the opening match, the Lions' record now stands at 12-7; West Virginia improved to 10-1.

Turnbull had mixed emotions about his team's chances before the match.

"Rationally I felt it was very possible for us to win," he said. "Emotionally, because of all the tradition here, and they always seem to come out on top, and they wrestle really well here and it's never happened, I was very questionable if it would happen."

Black, ranked No. 7 by Amateur Wrestling News, clinched the Mountaineers' win. He scored three first-period takedowns and led Adam Mariano, 7-2, after two periods. Mariano scored an escape and takedown early in the third to close the gap to 7-5. Black responded with an escape and takedown of his own to win, 10-7.

"I tried not to lock up with him too much and that's where I'm better," Black said. "I shoot to my knees a lot so I was able to cover more ground and I was able to get my shots off more than he was."

But the Mountaineers had a tougher time in the first two matches. At 118, Shawn Nelson scored two takedowns and riding time to decision Steve Millward, 7-4. At 126, Jeff Prescott defeated Dave Miller, 6-3, to put the Lions up 6-0. Prescott scored two takedowns and over three minutes in riding time.

"It was a hard-fought battle and you have to give West Virginia a lot of credit," Coach Rich Lorenzo said. "They just took it too us in some crucial spots and those crucial spots gave them six wins to our four."

"The bottom line is we lost but it's not the nationals," Prescott said. "Nationals are a totally different story. . . . We'll work it out. We'll get them."

Doug Taylor started the run for the West Virginia at 134. Taylor started strong with three first-period takedowns but Tom Barley stayed close, trailing just 12-9 after two periods. Barley scored a third-period takedown but Taylor's two third-period escapes gave him a 14-11 win.

Scott Collins, ranked No. 10 by AWN, beat Terry Brennan, 14-4, in the 142-pound match to put WVU on top, 7-6. Collins scored five takedowns and two back points in the win. Brennan filled in for Mike Bevilacqua, who injured his right knee in the Pitt match.

At 150, Dirk Cole scored seven points in the last two minutes against Tim Wittman to turn a 5-2 deficit into a 9-5 victory. Dave Onorato kept the momentum going in the next match, beating Mark Verratti, 16-7.

"Dave Onorato wrestled just beautifully," Turnbull said. "He looks so smooth and once he gets into a groove like that he can be dangerous."

Mark Banks snatched a victory from Jason Suter with a last second takedown in the 167-pound bout. Suter released him with about five seconds left and Banks immediately shot in for the takedown.

"I don't think you can coach that," Turnbull said. "There's just a good feeling among those guys that they're a quality team and they really responded well."

After Black's win at 177, Jeff Ellis defeated Dan Staatz, 10-1, in the 190-pound match to cut the lead to 20-10. At heavyweight, Greg Haladay beat Frank Jezioro, 6-2, to close the gap to 20-13.

Lorenzo earned his 150th victory as head coach with Penn State's victory over Pitt. Jeff Ellis and Prescott picked up falls for the Lions.

Ellis controlled Joe Hilferty from the start, sticking Hilferty at 4:20 with an armbar. Prescott swarmed Sean Moffit, scoring six takedowns before pinning him at 3:40. Mariano also put on a takedown clinic with nine in a 21-7 win over Bill Lewis.

Penn State will travel to Lock Haven on Friday for another EWL match and will visit Lehigh on Saturday.