Playing against top competition does not always look good on a team's record, and it shows on the men's tennis teams.

The Lions dropped all four matches on a recent trip to Virginia that concluded Tuesday with a 5-4 loss to Richmond. Penn State's record stands at 2-11.

Against Richmond, the Lions were down 4-2 after singles play and needed to sweep the doubles competition. But they could come up with only two of the three matches and had to settle for their seventh straight loss.

No. 5 Tim Hughes and No. 4 Brad Fielding won the singles matches for the Lions. Hughes won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, and Fielding squeezed out a 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) victory. Either Dave Welch or No. 2 Jamey Savitch could have turned the match the other way; they both lost 6-4 in the third set.

"I felt so sorry for the guys. They were out there trying so hard," Coach Holmes Cathrall said. "It's just frustrating that we can't pull any of these out."

The doubles combination of Savitch and Fielding improved their team-leading record with a 6-2, 6-1 win, and Welch and Dave Schoenly also won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

The other matches on the trip were not as close as Richmond. The Lions were shut out Monday against Virginia, 8-0, and Sunday the team did not even play doubles as Old Dominion won, 6-0. On Saturday, Penn State started the road trip with a 7-2 loss to William & Mary.

In Saturday's action, Fielding won, 6-3, 6-2, and Welch defeated William & Mary's Scott Mackesy, 6-0, 6-4.

"Beating Scott Mackesy was a big win for (Welch)," Cathrall said. "Of all of the teams we played this weekend, Mackesy could have beaten their top players."

The team expects to have Mark Cavalier back for this weekend's matches, although his status is uncertain due to a broken finger. Cathrall said he would put Cavalier right into the lineup but did not know at which position.

"We need the wins and this guy can win. But he's been out for six weeks and hasn't practiced at all," Cathrall said. "He's a very instinctive player, but whether or not he has the feel for the game, I don't know."

The Lions, once again, will be on the road this weekend with a three-day trip to New England. The team will face Boston College on Saturday and then meet Ivy League schools Harvard and Yale.

"Boston College is the weakest of the three," Cathrall said. "But it is still going to be a close match."

Penn State finished higher than BC in a team tournament in the fall, and has never lost to the Eagles. But the Lions have never beaten Harvard and have only beaten Yale once.

"Tennis is one of (Harvard and Yale's) biggest sports. Like we tailgate for football, they tailgate for tennis," Cathrall said. "(Harvard and Yale) are always in the top 20 or 30 every year."

Cathrall said he tries to schedule as many top-ranked teams as possible because that is the only way to get the top-ranked players to come to Penn State. He said a team with an easy schedule is a sign that it is not a good team.

"I don't see any point when you go out and mop people up," said Welch, Penn State's No. 1 player. "If we break .500, then we can consider it a very good year."