With the Northeast Collegiate Boxing Regionals rapidly approaching, the boxing club find itself with a lot of slugging to do before their backs are off the ropes.
The boxers have lost 10 of their last 11 bouts in the past two weeks. Three of these losses came last week, when the boxers faced Virginia Military Institute and Lock Haven at Shippensburg.
Chip Finney lost in a decision to Carl Engstrom of VMI. The first two rounds came out nearly equal but Finney lost in the third round.
In a similar story Kent Bernier had a strong beginning and found himself comming up short in the end. Bernier started the match by out-punching, out-manuvering and just plain out-boxing Vince Zalisky of Lock Haven.
Zalisky soon turned the tables and knocked Bernier down to stop the fight.
Matt Marino had the third Penn State loss in his bout agianst Turso Valls of Lock Haven.
“I tried, I hit hard, It just came out the other way,” Marino said. “A loss never hurt anyone. I still learned from the match.”
The boxers will face many of the same boxers that they already have been troubled by when they host the Northeast Regionals, Mar. 20 and 21.
“This is what the whole season is about,” Coach Bill Wrable said.
Each school will have one representative for each weight class. Penn State will choose its fighters in box-offs, Mar. 13 and14.
Wrable says that some major changes are in order. He says that the whole team needs to become more aggressive if they are going to do win the close matches and do well in the regionals.
The boxers have a week off and Wrable says that he is going to pick up the pace at practice.
The boxer’s next bout will be Mar. 7, at Central Conneticut State University.