Collegiate boxers are not afforded the same luxury that many other athletes are.

Going into tomorrow's Lock Haven University Bald Eagle Invitational at 1 p.m., the fighters on the Penn State boxing team will know only the record and school of their opponent. They will have no chance to break down game tape or scrutinize their opponents' tactics.

"It's scary to fight someone you've never fought before," senior Shane Lynch said. "That's part of it though. If you just fought someone you had seen before, it would be too easy. It's important to just go in and throw a few jabs and look at his technique.

"The worst thing to do is to hesitate. You have to go into the first round and feel him out and get the nervousness out. After the first good combo, you feel a lot better. Having a game plan is very important."

Lynch is one of six Penn State pugilists who will be fighting at Lock Haven. More than 100 fighters from local schools will participate. All fighters will compete in three-round bouts where they are scored on the number of punches landed. The boxers are paired within their weight classes with fighters who have similar records.

This fight will be the first official one for the Penn State team this year, while some other teams have had matches under his belt. The extra match or two does not, however, automatically lend the upper hand to the rest of the teams.

"Other teams have a little advantage because they have fought before," the 132-pound Jake Winowich said. "But we are practicing more this year, and we are practicing harder. We also spar a lot in practice, so we shouldn't be at that much of a disadvantage."

Senior Mory Diane will be fighting at 175 pounds this weekend, and his fight will be featured on the main card. According to Penn State coach Ed Davis, Diane is one of a handful of boxers on the Penn State team who have a legitimate shot at a national title in his weight class and will definitely be going to the regional competition later in the season.

Despite knowing this, Diane does not want to get ahead of himself this weekend. He will be fighting a fighter from Army who has no official collegiate matches, which is something that the team agrees can be very unnerving.

"You have no idea how good a fighter is if he has no record," Lynch said. "I don't want to look ahead too much. Even though I am already going to regionals, I want to concentrate on the match at hand. I take every match seriously."

Along with Lynch, Winowich and Diane, the team will also send Anthony Liotta to fight at 139 pounds, Ian McGroarty to fight at 145 pounds and Joe McDonald to fight at 195 pounds.

Even though all of the boxers who will fight on tomorrow have some match experience, none of them is immune to nerves.

"Everybody's at least a little bit nervous going in," Lynch said. "The difference is whether you are scared-nervous or ready-nervous. That's what makes it so exciting though."