Comebacks and upsets were the key words floating around Penn State's men's tennis team after its stunning 4-3 victories over Illinois yesterday and Purdue Saturday. The Lions played far above their heads in defeating their Big Ten opponents.

Illinois led 3-1 with only three matches remaining. No. 6 seed Doug Schoenly won his match in the tiebreaker of the third set to bring the Lions closer to the Illini.

Senior Chad Skorupka finished off his fellow No. 2 seed Jeremy Sutter in two games to bring an overall tie at 3-3.

As the pressure mounted, the fate of Penn State rested squarely on Greg Gaunt's shoulders. After losing the first set in a tiebreaker, Gaunt came back strong to win the second set 6-4. In an even matchup, Gaunt and Illinois' Jamison Hawthorne battled back and forth until Gaunt was able to capitalize on Hawthorne's mistakes and capture the final set 7-5, giving the Lions the dual meet win.

"I told myself I wasn't gonna let myself lose," Gaunt said. "Hopefully, this will provide me a big step for me and my confidence."

The starters for Penn State stepped up to the challenge that Illinois presented with a vengeance. They wanted to prove that they belonged in the Big Ten and to show that they could compete.

"This victory says a lot about the character of the team," Coach Jan Bortner said. "They now know they can handle the pressure. I knew coming in that they were loaded (with talent). We knew we had to have a good team effort to win."

Top-seed Ivan Spinner and two of the three doubles teams were defeated by Illinois' strong squad, which boasted Jerry Turek, the Canadian national champion. The overall win gave Penn State confidence that it could win in a pressure situation.

"We've been working on one thing -- how do guys respond when working under pressure," Bortner said. "There was pressure on all the guys -- they came through."

Although Penn State also beat Purdue by a score of 4-3, the match was not nearly as much of a contest. Penn State was happy to get its first Big Ten win but was not entirely happy with its play.

"We weren't moving as well as we need to," Bortner said of Saturday's match. "We didn't play with as much enthusiasm or spirit."