A 1-1 weekend never looked, or felt, so good.

The No. 14 ranked Penn State wrestling team showed signs of the schools past brilliance with matches against Minnesota and Wisconsin in Rec Hall.

The highly anticipated match with No. 3 Minnesota Friday night was everything a Penn State fan could have asked for, short of a victory. The Nittany Lions (10-4, 3-1 Big Ten) and Golden Gophers (12-4, 2-0) would split the 10 matches, but the Lions could not overcome Minnesota's early bonus points and fell, 19-15.

Penn State carried the momentum from Friday into yesterday's match with Wisconsin, and it certainly showed with a 27-9 win. Penn State sophomore Adam Smith got the announced crowd of 3,394 to their feet on Friday with a thrilling, third-period 6-5 defeat of Bobbe Lowe at 125 pounds.

Following a decision by junior Scott Moore at 141 pounds, the Lions went into a slump. They trailed the Gophers 16-6 going into the 174-pound match.

Sophomore Dan Waters got the ball rolling again with a 12-5 decision.

"I'm just glad this time I could pull my load," Waters said.

"No one wants to be the weakest link on the team, and thus far I haven't been performing as well as everyone knows I can."

Senior Mark Becks followed that with a 5-2 decision. Ryan Cummins brought the electricity back to Rec Hall with a 6-5 decision, scoring on a takedown in the last minute of the match. For their efforts, Waters and Ryan Cummins were given the Ridge Riley Award as outstanding wrestlers of the match.

"Probably the best feeling I have ever had in a singlet here," Cummins said. "After I got that takedown, the first one, I knew he was starting to fade. From then on out it was downhill."

With Penn State trailing by just a point, it was up to Pat Cummins at heavyweight to bring home the win. Cummins (No. 5) would have a battle with Garrett Lowney (No. 11). Cummins took several shots at a takedown in the third period, but Lowney held his ground and held on for the 5-3 decision.

Lowny was able to take down Cummins, but he could not take down the Lions' spirits.

"We have all had faith in our team," Ryan Cummins said. "To come that close, to be right there, I think everyone knows how tough we are and how much we are going to fight."

Yesterday, Penn State won the first six matches of the contest in building a 24-0 lead on the Badgers, in front of a Rec Hall crowd of 1,361.

In the second match of the afternoon, senior Doc Vecchio posted the only fall of the weekend. Vecchio pinned Adam Turner at 6:05 of the 165-pound bout.

Waters and Ryan Cummins continued on their rolls. Waters got an 18-9 major decision at 174. Cummins once again battled from behind, not scoring until 26 seconds left in the 197-pound match. He would then get the victory with a takedown just a few seconds into overtime.

"I knew eventually he would crack," Cummins said. "He tied my hands up pretty well during the first period. By the time the third period came around and then overtime I knew there was no way I was gonna lose."

Mark Becks and Pat Cummins had a tough job, matching up with nationally-ranked opponents, and handled that job well. Becks was able to take down No. 10 Ralph DeNisco with an 8-2 decision. Cummins put in a award-winning performance with his 15-6 major decision victory over No. 14 Justin Staebler.

The last of the seven Penn State wins came at 141, where Moore was able to grab the 15-9 decision. The two wins on the weekend give Moore 42 for the season, and sole possession of fourth place on the Nittany Lions' single-season record list. The win against the Badgers was his 100th as a Lion wrestler, making him the 20th wrestler in school history to accomplish that feat.

The win, the Lions' 10th this season, guarantees their first winning season since 1998-1999.

"The biggest thing for us the remainder of the year is to get the guys to believe in themselves," Becks said. "If we believe that, then we're going to surpass everybody else."