Entering the 2004 season, the Penn State boxing team was a far cry from the ones that helped make boxing the university's most popular winter sport in the 1940s. That's right, Penn State boxing was popular. But in a year that saw the Lions with a first-year coach relying heavily on a leader with a grand total of two matches under his belt, the struggles seemed inevitable.

The goal of the current Penn State boxing team was to somehow put the sport back on the map, both nationally and locally. With both home invitationals of the spring canceled, the Lions faired surprisingly well in making a name for themselves. Under coach Alex Komlev, Penn State's inexperienced squad managed to finish with a winning record. The highlight of the season came at the East Regional Championships where senior Bret King won the championship in the 175-pound weight class.

King, the team's leader and most consistent fighter all season, finished with a team leading five wins and a trip to the national championships in Reno, Nev. King is still undecided whether or not he will elect to use his last year of eligibility. If he returns, he will anchor a team that Komlev thinks can be the best team in the east.

"I can't tell you that we will be the best team in our region, but I can say that we most definitely can be," Komlev said. "If we recruit guys to fill in our lower and heaviest weight classes, and there has been a lot of interest since the season ended, we can compete with anyone."

Komlev, a late choice to coach the Lions, is looking forward to an entire year with a team that has a year of ring toughness and experience. He plans to start looking for talent and holding workouts in early September, hopefully building a group with great conditioning and confidence come the spring.

A fighter that Komlev says can play a big role in turning Penn State into a consistent national player is Chuck Pagana, a boxer with no experience coming into the season.

"I really think that Pagana can be one of our top guys, if not the top guy next year," Komlev said. "Coming fresh into the season, he showed a lot in progressing very well. Like a lot of the guys, next year he'll be a whole different person."

Along with Pagana and possibly King, freshman Vitaly Libman will most likely be one of the Lions' most reliable fighters after making the trip to Reno in his first year.

With those guys leading the team and others returning, Komlev whole-heartedly expects to take at least seven people to the national tournament as opposed to this year's disappointing total of two.

Realistically, no matter how well they fair, no matter how many home shows they have, the Lions will have a hard time garnering widespread interest throughout the university. King, Libman and Pagana will not replace the names of Mills, Robinson and Scott any time soon.

In any case, next year is one of high expectations and much excitement for Penn State boxing.

Who knows, maybe in the near future Penn State boxing will have multiple defending champions fighting in front of a packed house at Rec Hall. Until then, Komlev and the rest of his team can't wait to get back into that small practice room and that old ring in the basement of the White Building.