The Penn State boxing team has fought and won, but now comes the hard part.

After winning three out of five matches last weekend in their season opener, the inexperienced Nittany Lions will try to establish themselves as contenders in the North East Region as they travel to Lock Haven University tomorrow.

Penn State will compete against boxers from Lock Haven in addition to Army, the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), University of Reno-Nevada and possibly the Naval Academy.

In and out of the ring, the squad has benefited greatly from its showing last weekend, as newfound success and comfort has been seen throughout the week of practice.

"The boxers are much more comfortable with themselves, even trying to work on some new things to get better," Penn State boxing coach Alex Komlev said.

Even with an encouraging performance last week, Komlev has made sure that his team knows that they are far from being at the top of their game.

"We still need to work on basic things, which we have been doing this week," Komlev said. "We have been working on moving sideways in the ring better, as well as breaking free of tie-ups."

Even though many of the fighters got their feet wet at Shippensburg in their first bouts, Komlev remains skeptical about how they will respond in their second fight, which will possibly come against stiffer competition. In addition, two fighters will be making their first appearances in the ring this season and looking to work their way into the regular rotation.

"I really don't know what to expect this weekend to be honest," Komlev said. "We'll have to wait and see."

-- By Stephen Cappabianca