It's a basic principle of physics: What goes up, must come down. The same goes for emotions in sports -- after every huge win, there is the chance of a letdown game afterward.

The Penn State wrestling team found this out the hard way.

The No. 12 Nittany Lions (3-1) fell one win short against No. 13 Wisconsin (3-0) yesterday, losing the match, 19-15.

"It was a disappointing loss for our team," Penn State junior James Yonushonis said. "I think we did come out a little bit flat. We had some unexpected losses."

Yonushonis had Penn State's lone unexpected win of the match. He struck first in the opening matchup against Kelly Flaherty. Yonushonis took the lead early on a takedown, but that didn't hold up long, as Flaherty tied the match up with a takedown of his own at the end of the second period.

Yonushonis won the third period and secured the upset of the 10th-ranked wrestler in the nation. Even Yonushonis couldn't believe what he had done.

"That guy was ranked 10th," Yonushonis said. "Wow. That's cool then."

Yonushonis has seemingly snatched the reins at 174 after finishing under .500 last season. Yonushonis already has wins over the No. 7 and No. 10 wrestlers at his weight. He was known last year for winning matches that he wasn't supposed to win, and not being consistent enough in his other matches.

The Lions had all of the momentum in their favor after taking the first three matches and jumping out to a 9-0 lead on the Badgers. But just as it seemed like Penn State was going to run away with the match, Wisconsin shocked everyone in Rec Hall when it almost got a pin on junior Phil Davis at 197.

But though Davis would hold on for the win, the Badgers eventually scored a fall at heavyweight.

Wisconsin freshman Kyle Massey pulled the upset of the match by pinning Lions 19th-ranked wrestler Joel Edwards 1:11 seconds into the second period. The six-point victory for Wisconsin seemed to take some wind out of Penn State's sails.

"I thought we had 'em at 197," Wisconsin coach Barry Davis said. "We didn't come out strong enough, that pin helped us."

The match that sealed the deal for Wisconsin was a marathon between 10th-ranked Lions junior Nathan Galloway and 15th-ranked Badgers sophomore Craig Henning.

The match went in to six extra periods. Galloway grabbed a two-point reverse late in the first sudden victory to erase a potential win by Henning. But Henning recovered and escaped from Galloway in the second sudden victory to win the match.

"We gave up some points late, and lost some overtime matches that hurt us," Sunderland said. "Any time you give up some bonus points, give up a pin, you are going to change the outcome of the dual."

East Stroudsburg Open

Before yesterday's match against Wisconsin, some wrestlers competed in an individual competition Saturday night in East Stroudsburg. Sophomore Tim Haas went 5-0 at the open and won the title at 125.

The Lions had five attached wrestlers, including Haas, finish in the top eight.

The most notable performance of the unattached wrestlers was true freshman David Erwin, who placed fourth at 165. Erwin has yet to wrestle for Penn State, but Sunderland said he plans to wrestle him and not use a redshirt.