For Penn State and seven other teams, the battle for coveted All-American selections begins at the Eastern Wrestling League tournament, held today and tomorrow at Bloomsburg.

Eighty wrestlers will battle to advance to the NCAA tournament. The EWL takes the top four placers and four wildcards for a total of 44 spots.

"It's coming down to where you have to worry about yourself," 142-pounder Mike Bevilacqua said. "It sounds selfish, but wrestling is an individual sport. The best thing you can do for your team is win. We can't wait to get in there and bang heads."

Since 1981, the Lions have had at least three league champions each year, including five in 1986 and 1987. This year, however, no wrestler is favored to win a championship.

"We are underdogs for this tournament," Coach Rich Lorenzo said. "We have a lot of upsets to do and I believe we're capable of doing it now."

"None of us have anything to lose," 167-pounder Jason Suter said. "No one is a returning champion but (heavyweight) Greg Haladay. We're just planning to go out and give it everything we've got and hope it all pulls together."

The lineup will look a little different, with Jeff Prescott dropping down to the lightest weight, knocking out freshman Shawn Nelson. Bob Truby will return from injury for the 126 spot, as will 142-pounder Mike Bevilacqua. John Yankanich will be making his debut at the 158 weight class.

"If you're going to do anything at the national tournament you have to be at the weight you're supposed to be at," Lorenzo said. "Everybody's at the right weight class for them."

A look at each weight class:

118 Jeff Prescott (16-4-1), the redshirt sophomore who dropped from 126, will make his collegiate debut at this weight class. This may be the toughest of the weight classes, with three EWL opponents in the Top 20. Edinboro's Lou Rosselli (29-4-1) ranks the highest at No. 5. West Virginia's Steve Millward (30-8) is at No. 18, followed closely by Clarion's Eric Bennet (25-10-1) at No. 19. Prescott, who holds the No. 14 position at 126, will be making his debut at 118. A strong 126-pounder, Prescott may be able to overpower some opponents at the lower weight. His aggressive mat behavior may land him some upsets.

126 Bob Truby (14-6-1) will be making his first appearance this Friday night since injuring his knee against Iowa on Feb. 3. Truby, who wrestled at 134 during the season, dropped eight pounds in one night for the Iowa trip and gassed in the middle of the match. Lorenzo said this time he made sure Truby lost the weight in a somewhat normal time period. If Truby's knee is fully recovered, he's one of the favorites to end up in the finals. His toughest competitor is Bloomsburg's Dave Kennedy, No. 5 with a 29-2 record. The only other likely trouble for Truby is West Virginia's Dave Miller, who posts a 23-6 record.

134 Chad Dubin (13-14), a walk-on, will be looking for some Buster Douglas-type upsets this weekend. He posts a 1-4 record in the EWL. The strong favorites for the title in this weight class are Bloomsburg's Tony Reed (22-4-2), ranked No. 4 in the latest poll, and Lock Havenb's Mike Lingenfelter (33-4-1), ranked No. 8.

142 Mike Bevilacqua (25-5-3), like Truby, returns to the mat after being out with a knee injury received Feb. 10. Bevilacqua is at No. 14, but is preceded by West Virginia's Scott Collins (22-3) at No. 10 and Lee Todora (35-7) at No. 11. Bevilacqua lost only one of his first 22 matches. If his knee is 100 percent, he has the ability to take the title.

150 Tim Wittman (5-10), although he has gone only 2-3 in the EWL this season, might be able to fare pretty well since the competition isn't the toughest. The probable top-seed is Clarion's Brian Burk (24-7-1), who Wittman lost an 8-6 decision to on Feb. 25. Wittman came in fourth two years ago and was out with an ankle injury last year.

158 John Yankanich (7-5) will make his first appearance at the EWL tournament after beating starter Mark Verratti in a best-of-three series. Yankanich may have a rough introduction, since he most likely won't be seeded. He is making his lightest appearance this season after wrestling at 167, 177 and 190. Lock Haven's Jeff Karam (26-4-1), ranked No. 5, is the strong favorite for this weight class. Other strong competitors include Cleveland State's Matt Peters (17-5-1), Edinboro's Matt Lamoreaux (24-11-2) and West Virginia's Dave Onorato (19-9-1).

167 Jason Suter (23-7-1) is one of the Lions' largest hopes for a EWL champion, but will have to get past West Virginia's Mark Banks (18-1), his sole EWL loss this season. Suter is ranked No. 15 and Banks comes in at No. 8. Banks defeated Suter this season with a last-second takedown. Suter finished second in the EWL in 1988 but had a disappointing sixth-place finish in 1989.

177 Adam Mariano (19-8-2), the only freshman in the Lions' lineup for the tournament, will face some tough competition this weekend. Mariano, ranked No. 20, has three other EWL wrestlers ranked ahead of him. West Virginia's Dominick Black (28-3) is ranked No. 7, Edinboro's Frank Zelinsky (24-4) is No. 11, and Bloomsburg's Scott Brown (23-6) is No. 14. Mariano lost to Black, Brown and Lock Haven's Dale Budd (17-13-1) during the season. If Mariano avoids wrestling his opponent's style, like he did with Black and Brown, he can pull some upsets with his aggressiveness.

190 Jeff Ellis (15-6-2), making his first EWL appearance, is the only Penn State wrestler who is undefeated in the EWL (4-0-2). Ellis is ranked No. 11, but preceded by West Virginia's Jeff Spinetti (16-1-2), who owns the No. 9 spot.

Hwt Greg Haladay (26-5-1) will defend his tournament title. Put all bets on No. 5 Haladay and Clarion's top-ranked Kurt Angle (27-0-1) to meet in the finals. Haladay has lost to Angle twice this season, 4-2 and 2-1, his only EWL losses.