Penn State hosts its Fall Invitational this weekend, with matches being played at both the Sarni and the Penn State tennis centers. The tournament will be the Nittany Lions' only home appearance before a February match against Cornell.

"This weekend is a great opportunity to showcase tennis at Penn State," head coach Buffy Baker said. "Also, in a season that's packed with travel, it's a nice breather to play at home."

The Nittany Lions are in need of a breather after struggling at both the Maryland and Cissie Leary Invitationals last weekend, but this weekend's competition is not likely to provide it.

William and Mary, Connecticut, American University, Eastern Michigan, Cincinnati and Georgetown will all invade State College.

"The competition this weekend will be tough. William and Mary and Eastern Michigan are very good. It's going to be really tough up and down every flight," senior Janelle Perez said.

Nationally ranked Delphine Troch leads William and Mary. Troch and Jessyca Arthur team up to form William and Mary's top doubles team. The centerpiece of the Eastern Michigan squad is the doubles tandem of Lisa D'Amelio and Rebecca Hawkins.

Every player on the Penn State roster will see action this weekend, including senior Rebecca Ho. Ho and assistant coach Ben Gabler spent the beginning of the week in southern California at the ITA All-American Championships. Ho, the only Nittany Lion in the competition, fell in the first round to Erin Burdette of Stanford. Ho later stumbled in the consolation bracket and was eliminated from the tournament.

This week's practices were focused on match-play scenarios, with the players competing for sets and points in an attempt to simulate live match conditions. After last weekend, players wondered why good practices did not materialize into good matches. Baker has put an emphasis on improving that this weekend.

"Overall, I'd like to see an improvement in competing," Baker said. "We've had good practices and I hope that translates into an improvement after last weekend."

Baker knows, though, that practice has its limits.

"You can practice only so much. You need to be in live competition. It shows exactly where you are. It's a good test," Baker said.

Everything will be in the Nittany Lions' favor this weekend. Familiar courts, no travel and partisan fans. An added bonus is that many of the player's families will be making the trip to State College.

"My parents are making a long trip to see me play and that means a lot," sophomore Leigh Ann Merryman said. "It gives me extra motivation to play well." Merryman's parents are especially dedicated, travelling from Coto de Caza, California, to see their daughter in action.

Everyone will be motivated by playing at home, especially when it's the only chance in four months to do so.

"You always want to do well at home, in comfortable surroundings," Baker said. "At the same time, though, we also look at it as another opportunity to improve."

Improvement over last weekend's performances will not be too difficult and the team knows it.

"A lot of players came away hungry from last weekend because they felt they didn't play up to their potential," Baker said.

The tournament will run Friday through Sunday, with play getting underway at 9 a.m. every morning. Friday will feature two rounds of singles play and one round of doubles action. Saturday's format will be reversed, with the finals scheduled for Sunday. The singles competition will have three flights, while the doubles will only have two.