The second time is a charm.

The men's tennis team finally has its second chance to play its home opener.

The Lions will square off against Temple University at 4 p.m. today at the Penn State Tennis Center. The Lions' previous home meet, against Northwestern on Feb. 22, was cancelled at the last moment.

"This year (Temple) is a whole different team than last year," Coach Jan Bortner said. "Their top four players are very, very strong. They have an excellent team."

Last year the Lions defeated Temple, 6-3, on the road. This time, the home court advantage will go to the Lions.

"They have to travel -- we don't," Ivan Spinner said. "Plus (we're playing on) our home courts, so that's a definite advantage."

Temple boasts three outstanding newcomers. John Simone, Dalibor Pivcevic and John Dumanic gave the Lions tough competition in the fall tournaments.

"Temple's probably our toughest competition besides the Big Ten," Spinner said. "They're strong -- one of the top ten (teams) in the region."

Penn State's Marc Price, who missed the spring trip to Hilton Head, S.C., with tendinitis in his knees, will be ready to play, Bortner said. Price will be seeded second, behind Eduardo Abril. Greg Gaunt, Spinner, Chad Skorupka and Corey Goldstein will play third to sixth, respectively.

"There's no doubt having (Marc) back is going to help the team a lot," Spinner said.

The doubles ranks will see three experienced teams. Price and Gaunt will team up in the top spot; Spinner and Brett Englesberg will lay in the second slot and Abril and Skorupka will comprise the third team.

"This early in the season the doubles combos are as stable as can be expected," Bortner said.