The Penn State men's tennis team made a statement about its place among the East's best when it finished fifth this past weekend at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in Cambridge, Mass.

"This was a great experience and it goes a long way in showing everyone we are a good team," No. 3 singles player Roddy Cantey said.

Before the weekend, not everyone was so sure Penn State was a good team.

In fact, the Nittany Lions were seeded eighth by the tournament committee, a fact that irked some of the players.

"We wanted to show (the committee) that they made a mistake putting us that low," junior Chris DeStefano said. "We thought we deserved better, and that motivated us."

The fifth place finish in the 16-team event will help Penn State's ranking and future seeedings as it heads towards team play in the spring.

In addition, the overall performance—along with strong showings by several individuals— will enable the Nittany Lions place more players in the upcoming Rolex East Regional Tournament, which is the premiere individual Eastern tournament of the fall.

"We definitely will be able to get a lot of players in (to the Rolex) now," DeStefano said. "A poor showing would have meant one or two (Penn State players) going, but now we might get five or six."

The road to respect began with a first round match against Yale, the No. 9 seed.

Penn State dominated the top two singles matches as Steve Van Der Westhuyzen beat the Bulldogs' Steve Berke 6-1 and 6-4, and No. 2 Jamie Gresh topped Greg Royce 6-4 and 6-1.

Cantey, a freshman, lost a tough three-setter to Yale senior David Goldman at third singles 6-5, 5-6 and 6-4.

"He was real tough," Cantey said. "What gave him the edge, I think, was that he has more experience."

Luckily for Penn State, sophomore Matt Frakes (No. 5 singles) and freshman Todd Stecko (No. 6) won their matches and the Nittany Lions advanced to the second round Saturday to play top-seeded Columbia.

Penn State played tough, with DeStefano and Van Der Westhuyzen winning a doubles match and three Nittany Lions singles players forcing a third set.

But in the end, the Ivy League school ended up being too much for Penn State, winning by the official score of 5-0.

"It was a lot closer than that score indicates," Cantey said. "Jamie and Steve were both playing top opponents, and I think both would have won if their matches had ended."

Van Der Westhuyzen and Gresh chose not to finish their matches once it was determined Penn State could not win.

In the consolation match that ultimately decided fifth place overall Sunday, the Nittany Lions beat Cornell in a competitive match 4-3.

Gresh, Cantey and Stecko won at singles and Penn State's top two doubles teams— Gresh and Cantey at No.1 and DeStefano and Van Der Westhuyzen at No. 2— prevailed to seal the victory.

The win allowed the Lions to go home feeling good about themselves.

"The whole team was in a good mood after that last match," Cantey said.

Success in the first— and perhaps biggest— team tournament of the season may have helped forge team chemistry.

"It was good to get some good wins against good players," freshman Cantey said. "But it was fun just having the experience with the guys. . . all the emotion.

"I think this whole trip brought the team closer together."