Forgive Penn State wrestling coach Troy Sunderland if a sense of dreadful déjà vu overcame him four matches into his team's showdown with Lehigh on Jan 6.

For you see, his Lions were down 15-0 to the Mountain Hawks less than halfway into the anticipated meet, and to make matters worse, two years ago to the day Sunderland brought another confident team into Grace Hall in Bethlehem only to fall behind quickly on the way to a 32-6 humbling at the hand of their in-state rivals.

Another loss to Lehigh would have been two straight and three out of four against the team the Lions identify as one of their chief rivals, on the mat and on the recruiting trail.

For Sunderland, the scene in front of him had to be unsettling.

But he did not have need for concern. This is a different season, and this is a very different Penn State wrestling team. The Lions took that 15-0 deficit and turned it into a 19-15 victory. That win, coupled with 28-15 and 24-13 wins over Pittsburgh and West Virginia, respectively, this past weekend and a third place finish at the prestigious Midlands tournament in late December, pushed Penn State to 4-0 on the season and highlighted a very productive between-semester break.

"I remember the bus ride home from here two years ago in a snowstorm after we lost, it wasn't too pleasant," Sunderland said following the Lehigh match. "I'll enjoy this ride a little more."

Penn State found itself in the 15-point hole after losing four straight matches, including an upset at 149 where freshman Matt Storniolo fell 9-2 to Lehigh's Matt Anderson and a fall at 165 by Lehigh's Troy Letters, pound for pound one of the best wrestlers in the country.

The Lions began to reverse their fortunes at 184 where Eric Bradley topped Travis Frick 6-2. From there, Penn State could not be stopped. DeWitt Driscoll's 8-3 win at 141 in the night's final bout sealed the victory for the Lions.

The Lions further enhanced their reputation as road warriors with the victories over the Panthers and Mountaineers.

Among the top Penn State performers in the two meets were heavyweight Pat Cummins, who recorded a fall against Pitt and a 12-6 win over West Virginia's fifth-ranked Brent Miller; 157-pounder James Woodall, who picked up a pair of technical falls; and Adam Smith at 125 pounds, who avenged an earlier loss by beating Pitt's Drew Headlee 12-5.

"He's wrestling really well right now," Sunderland said of Smith. "He's looking tough."

By beating three bitter rivals in a five day span, Penn State staked it's claim to being the dominant team in the East, a title that had been slowly slipping away, and established itself as force in the national picture. Perhaps more importantly, the Lions set themselves up perfectly for a strong campaign at the National Dual meet championships next weekend, one of the season's key points, maybe even more so than Lehigh.

Well, maybe not.