Ever since the men's tennis team lost to Temple, 6-3, in the first round of the ECACs last fall, it has been looking forward to a rematch.

The opportunity came yesterday afternoon at the Indoor Tennis Club, and it didn't turn out quite like Coach Holmes Cathrall and his squad expected.

The Lions dropped to 2-5 and the Owls improved to 7-2, coming away with another 6-3 victory.

But the match was far from a complete loss. Some players made important strides in their tennis careers. No. 1 player Jason Rayman beat Lorne Goldberg, 6-2, 6-1. When the two met in the fall, Goldberg beat Rayman in straight sets.

No. 2 Dave Schoenly beat Joe Lizardo, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. The win was of special importance because no Penn State player ever beat Lizardo before. Former standout Dave Welch lost to him four times.

"That was a big improvement," Cathrall said. "Two guys that got beat in the fall won today. But that's when the lineup started taking all shapes and forms. It didn't break out the way we had counted on."

Originally, the Lions believed they could beat the Owls. Then a virus claimed the health of No. 3 singles player Mark Cavalier. That completely shook up the lineup. The players ranked below Cavalier all moved up one slot.

Some of those players were not exactly ready for the tough Temple lineup and faltered.

"You take one person out of your lineup, it's not like you can put in a substitution at that spot, you've got to move everybody up," Cathrall said. "That really affects your lineup. If a guy's playing bad in basketball you can take him out. In tennis, you're stuck with him."

Mark Price, the replacement at No. 3, lost to Rick Lees in a close 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 contest. No. 4 Scott Pickering fell, 6-2, 6-4, to Mark Sonders. No. 5 Corey Goldstein lost, 6-2, 6-2, to Kyle Hawthorne and No. 6 Sean Snee dropped a straight set decision to R.J. Harr, 6-2, 6-1.

Cavalier's illness also forced Cathrall into switching the doubles lineup. The only pairing that stayed the same was the No. 2 team of Rayman and Price. It was the only pair that won. The two beat Sonders and Bost, 6-1, 7-5.

In the No. 1 spot for the Lions were Schoenly and Goldstein. They never played together before today's match. They lost, 6-2, 6-1, to Lees and Lizardo.

Rounding out the field was the No. 3 combination of Pickering and Troy Surdick, who were beaten, 6-3, 7-5, by Goldberg and Harr.

Another problem which could have hindered the Lions' efforts yesterday was the 19-day layoff they were coming off of. The last time they played was March 1, in a 7-2 loss to Elon College.

Although Cathrall thought his team would be raring to go at the idea of playing people outside the squad, the Lions' energy backfired.

"The layoff was tough," Rayman said. "I had a problem. I didn't know how I would be playing coming into the match. All the guys had the same kinds of feelings until we got into the matches. But as far as I'm concerned, I think I played well, and I feel I'm ready for the rest of the season."