Netmen to welcome Purdue, Illinois

The schedule is whispering to the Penn State men's tennis team: "Things aren't going to get any easier."

After losing two Big Ten matches on the road last weekend to Minnesota and Iowa, the Nittany Lions (7-6, 0-3 Big Ten) are looking to rebound strong and possibly pickup their first conference win of the season.

It won't be easy. The Lions are facing the No. 2-ranked team in the country, Illinois, at 9 a.m. tomorrow and then meet perennial Big Ten powerhouse Purdue at 4 p.m. Sunday. Both matches will be played at the Penn State Tennis Center.

- Penn State senior Colin Smeeton

The Fighting Illini are an aggressive team that plays much like Penn State. Junior Oliver Freelove and sophomore Cary Franklin lead Illinois with their powerful net-attacking play.

"Illinois has a lot of big hitters and many weapons," Penn State assistant coach Doug Schoenly said. "They'll be very hard to handle."

Despite hefty competition, the Lions remain open to the possibility of an upset.

"On any given day, anyone could beat anyone," Smeeton said. "So, we'll see what happens."

Although Penn State lacks a conference win and is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, Illinois coach Craig Tiley respects Penn State.

"Every time we play Penn State, it has been a tough match," Tiley said. "I think the team who executes better at the right times will win. It's that simple."

Both Schoenly and Tiley agreed the doubles point will be important to the outcome of the match. So Penn State has been resiliently practicing their doubles play.

"Hopefully our practice will transfer over to our play," Schoenly said. "The doubles point will be so huge, as it always is."

The Penn State No. 1 doubles team of Smeeton and junior Mike Griesser will likely face Illinois' Freelove and sophomore Jeff Laski. Freelove and Laski are currently ranked 31st in the country in doubles play -- Smeeton and Griesser are not ranked.

Although the Lions are pumped to face such a highly ranked team like Illinois, they know they cannot lose sight of Purdue.

"Purdue is such a tough team too," Schoenly said. "We cannot forget them."

The Boilermakers are currently ranked 65th in the country, one notch behind the Lions -- so a close match is expected.

With their proverbial conference backs to the wall, the Lions understand they must stop their losing streak.

"We have to win at least one of these matches," Smeeton said. "I can't remember the last time we were 0-5 in conference play."