Spring Semester was slated to be redshirt junior Russ Hughes' chance to wrestle again -- his opportunity to get back on the mat after surgery to repair a ligament tear in his knee forced him to sit out much of last semester.

But Hughes' return will be delayed again, and this time his knee isn't the culprit.

Coach John Fritz said that the 150-pounder will not be with the team for the rest of the season because of academic problems.

"He's been on the borderline straight through," Fritz said. "He knows what he has to do. Hopefully, he can get it done. We're sure hoping he'll come back (next season).

"It's a shame you only hear about Russ," Fritz added. "This is probably the best GPA we've had as a team."

Fritz said that four of the team's top five freshmen ended the semester with a Grade point average above 3.0, and of those freshmen, Glenn Pritzlaff is on the dean's list along with senior Tony Bobulinski.

Hughes finished last season 25-12 and placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships despite wrestling on an injured knee. He was one of the team's most experienced wrestlers.

"He had a lot of experience at that weight (which) we're going to lack," said Kerry McCoy, a team captain. "But what we lack in experience, we'll make up with hunger and determination."

Hughes came to Penn State from Benton High School with his twin brother John, who also wrestles for the Lions, and two state high school championships to his name.

Russ was redshirted during the 1991-92 campaign. The next season, he finished 28-8 as the team's 142-pounder and placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships. He also won the 142-pound title at the East Stroudsburg Open and at Lock Haven's Mat Town Tournament. He received the Joe Scalzo Award for Penn State's best freestyle wrestler.

All that experience will be gone, but Fritz said his young team is capable of filling the void.

"They're a resilient bunch," Fritz said of this year's young squad.

Russ could not be reached for comment, but he told the Daily Collegian in a Dec. 7 article that he expected his grades to improve, and at that time, he believed he would be wrestling this semester.

"I'm almost sure that I'll be eligible," he said. "I'll do anything I have to to get back."

Russ also talked about the chance that he and his brother would leave the University and listed Bloomsburg, Arizona State, and Lock Haven as possible places to continue his wrestling career.