While most Penn State students flew south last week, the men's tennis team team spent their spring break traveling northwest for Big Ten competition. But it was no vacation for the Nittany Lions.

"The girls were in Bermuda, while we're sitting here in State College which kind of sucked, but oh well," Captain Ivan Spinner said.

Last week heralded the first Big Ten competition of the season for Penn State (1-2, 0-2 in the Big Ten). But the matches weren't all that the Lions had hoped for, as they fell first to Minnesota (9-3, 3-0) on March 11, and then to Iowa (5-3, 1-1) on Sunday.

In Minnesota, Spinner began the competition by upsetting Paul Pridmore, who had won the Big Ten Men's Singles Championship just two weeks earlier. But that was the end of the upsets for Penn State. The team was swept in the rest of the singles matches, as well as the doubles matches, and fell to Minnesota 6-1.

"Minnesota is definitely the best team in the Big Ten, and they were a lot stronger than us," Spinner said. "We didn't go in there with the confidence that we could win, which we should have."

The Lions then traveled to Iowa hoping to redeem themselves. In doubles competition, Greg Gaunt and Spinner as well as Doug Schoenly and Brett Pollak, who stepped in for an ill Michael Tain, won their matches to ensure the doubles point for Penn State. The nationally ranked team of Michael Carter and Chad Skorupka, however, was upset by Tom Derouin and Carl Mannheim.

"We didn't serve well, we didn't return serve well, and we didn't volley well," Coach Jan Bortner said. "Without those three things you can't win the match."

After singles victories by Spinner and Schoenly the Lions were fighting for the win. But Penn State dropped three matches in straight sets, and with the score even, the No. 3 slot match between Carter and Iowa's Todd Shale became the deciding factor. In the only match to go beyond two sets, Shale finally prevailed, 7-2, 2-6, 6-3, giving Iowa the 4-3 win.

"I thought going in, it would be extremely competitive, and it was just that," Bortner said. "We had a couple advantages we sort of let slip away."

The Lions will take a break from the road and compete in their next six matches at home, beginning Thursday against Temple. The next Big Ten match will be against Purdue on April 2.