Lions hope to top NCAAs

By JONATHAN BOMBULIE
Collegian Sports Writer

As Glenn Pritzlaff entered the wrestling locker room yesterday afternoon to make final preparations for his trip to the 1995 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Iowa City, Iowa, he broke into song.

"We ain't goin' out like that, we ain't goin' out like that," he crooned in his best Cypress Hill impression.

The rap lyric might describe the Lions' four representatives' attitude heading into their final competition of the 1994-95 season.

"We've got four guys who are hungry," heavyweight Kerry McCoy said. "We're all looking to win a NCAA title this year. We have to go all out and get four national champions."

The Lions' last chance for vindication for a 5-12 regular season is the NCAA finals that begin tomorrow. Despite finishing the season unranked in the dual-meet poll, Penn State is at No. 2 -- behind only Iowa -- in the tournament team poll.

"I'm an idealist," Coach John Fritz said. "We could have four national champions and Iowa could fall flat on their face. But on paper, for us to be in the top four of five would take a monumental effort, no doubt."

The Lions' best chance at a national title is McCoy. The junior from Middle Island, N.Y., has defeated 13 of the top 15 heavyweights in the nation. He has yet to face the other two. He is 38-0 on the year, riding an 85-match winning streak.

"My goal to is win every time I step on the mat," McCoy said. "A lot of guys go out there and not wrestle, try to keep it close. It's tougher that way. I have to make sure I stay focused."

The Lions' other Big Ten champ, 142-pound redshirt junior John Hughes, will likely be a No. 2 seed in the tournament behind Fresno State's Gerry Abas. Hughes was slated to meet Abas at the National Wrestling Coaches' Association All-Star meet in January, but was out for academic reasons.

"Who knows if (Hughes) will wrestle Abas?" Fritz said. "He has to prepare for all his opponents and be focused for a whole seven minutes."

If the seeds hold at 126, Sanshiro Abe will get his chance at revenge against No. 1 Jeff McGinness of Iowa. Like Hughes, Fritz said Abe has not singled out any one opponent.

"I know how (Abe) is preparing, and he isn't just getting ready for McGinness," Fritz said. "I think he learned some things in his last match (against McGinness) that he can use against anyone."

Pritzlaff is the Lions' longest shot at winning a national title, but he has an additional motivation --revenge.

"There's a number of guys I'd like to wrestle again," said Pritzlaff, the sixth-place finisher at 158 pounds in the Big Ten. "Like the three guys I lost to at Big Tens, you could go right down the list --all the guys I lost to all season I'd like to wrestle again."