The women's tennis team will finish its regular season this weekend with competitions against Rutgers, West Virginia and Southern Illinois.

The weekend's competitions will be a good indicator for the Atlantic 10 Championships, to be held April 12-14.

"I feel like the top three teams will be us, West Virginia and Temple," Coach Sue Whiteside said.

The team's goal for the weekend will be to defeat its opponents so Penn State will be seeded first going into the A-10 competition.

The weekend's competition will also serve a second purpose.

"This weekend we get a feel for their lineup . . . and that kind of sets the tone for next weekend," Kelly Erven said.

Last year, Penn State was first in the conference, Rutgers was second and West Virginia was fourth. The team cannot take this weekend lightly.

"We have to be prepared for everything because that's the position we're in now," Whiteside said.

The team's record of 17-4, along with the fact it is last year's conference champion, makes Penn State the team to beat, Whiteside said.

The team will be meeting both Rutgers and West Virginia tomorrow.

"I think if anything we have an advantage because we're in good shape," Whiteside said. "It'll be tough but it'll give us something to shoot for as far as A-10s."

Erven said approaching singles and doubles matches one at a time will help the players get through the day.

An old rivalry will surface when the Lady Lions meet West Virginia.

"I know my players will be pretty fired up," Whiteside said. "There've been some past incidents that have made the rivalry more interesting."

One such incident involved problems with court assignments at last year's Atlantic 10 competition, which was held at West Virginia. The incident caused friction between the teams.

In addition to the rivalry, West Virginia will be a tough opponent for the Lady Lions.

"They've been getting stronger and stronger each year," Whiteside said. "We know there are some tough players on their team."

"It would be silly for us to take this match for granted," Erven said.

Rutgers will also give the team some competition, though not as much as West Virginia.

"You can't underestimate Rutgers. They're well coached," Erven said.

"I don't think they're as much in contention," Whiteside said.

Whiteside explained Rutgers lost several players to graduation.

"I don't think they got anybody too significant in," she said.

However, Whiteside said the team will take Rutgers seriously as a competitor.

On Sunday, the Lady Lions will meet Southern Illinois, which is not in the conference.

"It's nice to play someone a little bit different," Whiteside said. "They're not a bad team at all."

Whiteside said Penn State is ready for the weekend's competitions.

"I think we're up. The morale is good and the enthusiasm is good," she said. "I think we're match tough right now. We've played a lot of matches. . . . We just need to be real solid. If we do that we'll be fine."

This weekend's competitions will be the last conference matches for seniors Erven and Cathy Kissell.

"I think my captains are going to be the leaders going into this," Whiteside said. "They make a huge difference going into matches. Really its the confidence they display on and off the court which gives us the edge."