It will be an uphill battle for the Penn State women's tennis team as it is set to make a run in the Big Ten championships beginning today at 9 a.m. in Urbana, Ill. The Nittany Lions (7-12, 2-7 Big Ten) are entering the tournament carrying a No. 9 seed, with only Indiana and Michigan State seeded lower.

Additionally, late-season injuries have become a factor in recent weeks as the Lions have missed the contributions of Sarah Spence, who holds a team-high win percentage in Big Ten singles matches and will be questionable for the four-day competition. Spence has played sparingly since she incurred a minor ankle sprain two weeks ago.

The Lions have been struggling to add conference wins to their record as they have dropped five straight matches since defeating Indiana in late March. Last weekend, two more marks were added to the loss column, as Penn State watched a pair of narrow matches slip away to Iowa and Minnesota.

On Saturday, the Lions took on the Hawkeyes. Winning two of three doubles matches put Penn State up by one. The next two singles matches also ended in favor of the Lions to put them up 3-0 on the day, but they could not clinch the victory in any of the remaining four matches as Iowa went on to rally for the win.

The following day was not supposed to get any easier. Penn State faced off against Minnesota. The match was clinched early by the Golden Gophers as they claimed the doubles point and then the next three singles duels to seal the win. However, the Lions did battle for respect and won the last three singles matches to equal the previous day's final score of 4-3. Minnesota's win finalized its first-ever Big Ten regular-season title with a record of 9-1 in conference play.

Though the No. 9 seed means the Lions will have a tough schedule for most of the tournament, they have a lot to prove on day one. This morning, Penn State gets one more shot at the team that stole what seemed to be a sure win away from it less than one week ago. They meet eighth-seeded Iowa at the Atkins Tennis Center in what is sure to be a grueling competition. The winner receives a bid to tomorrow's quarterfinal round.

Capturing a win over the Hawkeyes would surely provide a redeeming confidence for the Lions, but it is uncertain if that will be enough to carry them through No. 1 ranked Minnesota on tomorrow.

Penn State needs the senior leadership of Judy Wang and April Uy, who has stepped into the lineup since Spence's injury, if it intends to stay until the weekend. Junior Leigh Ann Merryman and freshman Lindsay Downing will also be key elements for success as they hold team-high win percentages this year.

Merryman will pair with sophomore Maaria Husain to lead the Lions at the No. 1 position in doubles.

Should Penn State manage to knock off both Iowa and Minnesota, they'll move on to the semifinals Saturday and possibly Sunday's championship match.