The Penn State women's tennis team looks to shake up the Big Ten rankings this weekend as it faces off against Northwestern and Wisconsin in the last two home matches of the season.

Tomorrow, the Nittany Lions (7-9, 2-4 Big Ten) will take on Big Ten powerhouse Northwestern, a team that has captured the past four conference titles and is currently ranked No. 2 this season. The Wildcats also hold a No. 19 seed nationally under the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings.

The Lions are looking at the match against Northwestern as an opportunity to beat an outstanding program rather than a must-win scenario. Sophomore Megan Marton, who plays at the No. 1 position for the Lions, said she is looking forward to the chance to play such a strong team and doesn't feel that Northwestern will be the sure winner.

"Northwestern just lost to Minnesota," Marton said. "The Big Ten is very scattered; it's wide open for any team to win."

Maaria Husain also feels that the match is a great opportunity for her team to take advantage of a Northwestern program with too much to lose.

"Since we're the underdogs, they should be a little more nervous," Husain said.

On Sunday, the Wisconsin Badgers will be the second opponent the Lions hope to derail. The Badgers hold a 2-4 Big Ten record, equal to that of the Lions. Wisconsin, also like Penn State, is one of only five conference teams not holding an ITA national ranking of 75 or better.

"With Wisconsin, we have a great chance," Marton said. "If we can take them down, it will be a huge confidence booster."

Marton also said that hosting Wisconsin on Sunday would play to her advantage.

"The second day I always play with more confidence," she said. "I'm in a better groove by the second day."

Penn State is coming off two losses last weekend when it faced Illinois and Purdue on the road. The Illini trounced the Lions, 6-1, sweeping all six singles matches. The following day, the Boilermakers swept the doubles matches and four of six singles matches to defeat the Lions 5-2.

This week in practice Penn State women's tennis coach Buffy Baker has continued to stress the importance of conditioning and agility drills, as the outdoor matches tend to entail longer rallies and points. Senior Judy Wang said that Baker has stressed sprints and footwork in addition to tactical practices.

"We've been working on closing at the net, with an emphasis on overhead shots," Wang said.

Penn State currently stands seventh in the Big Ten conference with four more matches to improve its ranking.

The Lions will travel to the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota next weekend for their final two matches of the season. Those meetings will be the Lions' last opportunities to improve their seeding before entering the Big Ten tournament at the end of the month.