Even with their season cut drastically short, the members of the Penn State Club Boxing Team made the most of what they had.

In a normal year, the team would have been competing about every other weekend from September to the national championships in April. But, forced to start the season without a certified coach, its season was cut to a pair of invitationals, the regional championships and, for those who qualified, nationals in the upcoming month.

"The NCBA won't allow us to compete without a certified coach," said Bill Seskey, president of the Penn State Boxing Club, "and they only have the certification class once a year."

Without a certified coach for most of the season, and thus unable to compete, the team did what it could do -- instruct.

"Because it's not NCAA, we get more athletes that come out, with and mainly without experience," said Seskey.

With only six returning members on the current 17-man squad, this year's tryouts filled out the majority of the current team.

"We take novice boxers in the club and do conditioning and strength training, and we teach them how to box, run them through drills, no contact," said Seskey.

Beginning with 70 athletes with little to no boxing experience, the practices whittled it down to the 36 who then sparred to find out who made the team. Now with a team and a new coach in the fold, the team's season started in earnest on Feb. 18 at Gettysburg College.

While the team's 10-fighter record at the invitational was a lackluster 4 wins and 6 losses, it was its first action of the season, against opponents who had been boxing for a good 5 months.

The next weekend's action at the Mansfield University "Mountaineer" Invitational provided a reversal of roles, when the PSU squad posted an 8-2 10-fighter record and set itself up nicely for the Eastern Regional on March 10 and 11.

"On the way home [from Mansfield], there was a feeling that we were back," said Anthony Liotta, Penn State's boxer in the 132-pound weight class. "Penn State boxing used to be big. It felt good to be someone to watch out for, up and coming."

With only two meets of experience when regionals, the national qualifier, came around, no one knew what to expect, and Penn State once again proved to be a worthy adversary.

By placing in the top two of their respective weight classes, Mory Diane at 175, Dustin Frank at 195 and Mannaa Mannaa at 139 have that assured Penn State will have three boxers in Reno, Nev., when the NCBA Championships take place in April.

And more than that, they have assured the rest of the country that Penn State Boxing is back.