Even on a day when two top-10 wrestling teams, Penn State and Michigan, met and when an undefeated wrestler, Nittany Lions heavyweight Pat Cummins, suffered his first loss, two people 400 miles from the action were still the story.

Two Wolverines stars, Foley Dowd at 133 and Ryan Churella at 149, were scheduled to square off yesterday with their two equally talented Penn State counterparts, Josh Moore and Matt Storniolo.

The two matches were to be the highlights and the deciding factors in the highly anticipated meet between Penn State and Michigan.

The only problem was, when the festivities finally got underway yesterday, Dowd and Churella were back in Ann Arbor, presumably in bed fighting the flu.

Both wrestled under the weather Friday night when Michigan beat Ohio State 22-15 in Columbus, but their condition deteriorated to the point that Michigan wrestling coach Joe McFarland decided to send them home instead of risking the rest of the team.

"I didn't want to come out against Penn State undermanned," McFarland said. "But this time of year it's not worth risking having them around the rest of the team."

With Dowd and Churella out, in stepped two rarely used reserves, Chase Metcalf and Jeremiah Tobias at 133 and 149, respectively.

Moore made short work of Metcalf, winning by fall in 2:01 and Storniolo had his way with Tobias winning 16-0.

Those two matches gave Penn State 11 points where they had expected to be in a fight to get six. But that doesn't mean they were happy about it.

"I was disappointed that they [Dowd and Churella] weren't there," Penn State wrestling coach Troy Sunderland said. "We've wrestled Michigan before with people out of the lineup, almost every match you're missing someone."

No one was more disappointed with the turn of events than Moore and Storniolo. Both were looking to reverse a pair of close losses at the National Duals in January, but neither got the chance.

"We found out they weren't there at weigh-ins this morning," Lions 197-pounder Joel Edwards said. "Matt just shook his head and Josh used a few words you wouldn't want to quote him on."

Even so, the season is not over and March's postseason may yield another chance at redemption.

"I was a little upset when I heard he wasn't here," Moore said. "I don't think he really wants to wrestle me. But that's fine. If he's sick, he's sick. I'm going to wrestle him in a month, anyway."

Moore was referring to the Big Ten tournament, where all four wrestlers involved in the saga are contenders for their weight's individual championship.

Moore and Storniolo will most likely be seeded behind Dowd and Churella because of the losses they suffered earlier, raising speculation of deliberate avoidance on Michigan's part.

"I hope to think there's not, I don't think there was," Sunderland said in regards to any ulterior motives from the Wolverines. "But I know that it takes nothing away from our victory. We still beat No. 5 Michigan."