If you think 174-pound true freshman Todd Brennan is nervous heading into his first two dual meets as a Nittany Lion this weekend at Clarion and Edinboro, maybe this will change your mind.

When asked about the prospect of facing Edinboro's top-ranked wrestler and defending NCAA champion Josh Koshcheck, Brennan responded by asking, "who's that?"

If Brennan and the Lions do go down this weekend, it will not be due to intimidation.

"After the first match I wrestled in college, I told myself it doesn't matter who I wrestle. I can't worry about my opponent, only about myself," Brennan said.

Fellow freshman Dan Waters, who is also wrestling in his first Penn State dual meet, shares Brennan's sentiments.

"I really don't pay attention to who I'm going to wrestle," Waters said. "I just concentrate on winning, I don't want to be the weak link in the chain."

The Lions will have to be strong up and down the lineup this weekend, if they plan to come away with two victories. Both Clarion and Edinboro feature lineups with dangerous wrestlers and present matchup problems for Penn State.

"They both have strong lineups with tough kids," head coach Troy Sunderland said. "Clarion especially matches up well with us. Their kids have already won matches with us at 125, 197 and heavyweight."

The Golden Eagle's strongest wrestler is Rad Martinez. Martinez, ranked fifth at 133 pounds by Amateur Wrestling News, knows he will have a tough matchup against Penn State, he just doesn't know who it will be.

The Lion's will either send out Josh Moore or Marat Tomaev, both sophomores and both NCAA tournament qualifiers from last season.

"I really don't have a preference about who Rad wrestles," Clarion head coach Ken Nellis said. "Moore is more of a mat wrestler and Tomaev works more on his feet. Either way, Rad has to be ready to wrestle."

Other strong wrestlers for Clarion include Eric Mausser at 197 and John Testa at heavyweight. Both are ranked in the top 20 at their respective weights.

On paper, Edinboro is a much stronger team than Clarion and one of the stronger teams Penn State will see this year. When healthy, the Fighting Scots feature five ranked wrestlers, including Koshcheck and fellow 2001 All-American David Shunamon at 197 pounds.

Koshcheck was held out of last week's Las Vegas invitational due to a concussion, but according to head coach Tim Flynn, Koshcheck has been practicing and will most likely wrestle.

There are several unsettled weights in the Lions lineup. In addition to 133, there is no definite starter at 125, where either junior Justin Kast or freshman Adam Smith will wrestle, and heavyweight, where Sunderland had not ruled anyone out.

"I don't care who we send out onto the mat or who they're going to wrestle," Sunderland said. "We expect the same of everyone, we expect them to win."

For Flynn, a Penn State alumnus, this is an important weekend.

"I think this has turned into a good rivalry," Flynn said. "For the past couple of years we have been one of, if not the, best team in the east. Beating Penn State is always a big deal and I'm real good friends with coach Sunderland."

After strong showings in both the East Stroudsburg and Penn State opens, and winning the Mat Town Invitational, two wins this weekend, against teams they're 28-5-1 all-time against, will go a long way towards the Lions' goal of reclaiming their spot as the dominant program in Pennsylvania.

"For a long time, we had been recognized as the top team in the east and in Pennsylvania," Sunderland said. "Recently, a lot of teams have been saying that they've passed us. We want to win the Big Ten and National title, and the east will take care of itself."

Following final exams, Penn State will be in action all through the semester break. Two late December tournaments, the Reno Invitational and the Wilkes Open, will close out 2001. The weekend of January 5-6 marks the return to dual meet action with home matches against Pitt and West Virginia and a trip to Lehigh.