For the Penn State women's tennis team, its fortunes followed the weather.

On Friday, in temperatures balmy for mid-March, the Lady Lions destroyed West Virginia outdoors at the Sarni Tennis Center, 6-1. On Saturday though, play was moved inside due to the deteriorating weather and Penn State dropped a tough 6-0 decision to Iowa.

"Competition wise, Iowa was really strong," said junior Judy Wang, who won on Friday and did not finish her match on Saturday. "Iowa really came after us. It was totally different than West Virginia."

Against West Virginia (2-6), in order to give No. 1 singles player Rebecca Ho a break, head coach Buffy Baker altered the singles lineup, moving everyone up a place and starting junior April Uy at the No. 6 spot. The move worked out well as only Sarah Spence, playing at No. 5, lost.

Especially impressive for Penn State (5-6, 1-3 Big Ten) were freshman Megan Marton and sophomore Leigh Ann Merryman. Marton dominated West Virginia's Maia Binder, 6-0, 6-0. Merryman, playing one spot behind Marton at No. 3, was also dominant, winning 6-0, 6-1 over Katherine Augustsson. The win was Merryman's ninth straight.

"Every time Leigh Ann goes out onto the court, she gives it everything she has," Baker said. "You can see the disappointment on her face when she loses and that's what we want to see."

Penn State also went 3-0 in doubles play against West Virginia, giving signs of life to an area that has been lacking for the Lady Lions this season.

As impressive as the win over West Virginia was, Penn State was forced to play at another level against Iowa. The Hawkeyes took it to the Lady Lions, playing with intensity and aggressiveness and winning the crucial points to come away with the win.

Iowa came out strong winning two of three doubles matches to gain the valuable point. From there it was an uphill battle and Penn State could not overcome the deficit.

"It was a tough day," Baker said. "We had control of the doubles point and we lost it. We came out and competed very well in singles. Every match was close, the score is not in any way indicative of the competition. It was a great college tennis match."

In a dual meet that featured three three-set matches, Iowa kept their composure and won the points they needed most.

"When it got tight, Iowa competed better," Baker said. "It shows our youth."

Iowa also won the first set in all six singles matches, forcing Penn State to play from behind.

"We need to practice better if were going to compete with teams like this," assistant coach Ben Grabler said. "We need to get more out of practice."

Penn State will have a lot of time for practice, as their next match, a trip to William and Mary, is not for another two weeks.

"We're going to hit conditioning hard," Baker said. "We're also going to keep playing competitive matches in practice. Sometimes a break is good, but we don't want to lose our competitive edge."