There is nothing sweeter than the taste of redemption. And when the stakes are at their highest, that redemption means the most.

Less than one week after watching an early 3-0 lead over the Iowa Hawkeyes evaporate into a 4-3 loss, the Penn State women's tennis team pulled together and returned the sour favor to their opponent by defeating them 4-3.

The Nittany Lions (8-12, 3-7 Big Ten) met the Hawkeyes yesterday in the first round of the Big Ten tournament at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana, Ill. They were coming off a six-game losing streak against conference opponents, finalized by two narrow losses to Iowa and Minnesota just last weekend. Both matches ended 4-3.

But the Lions have become all too familiar with the heartbreaking defeats and entered the conference championships with something to prove. The underdog mentality resonated amongst the team.

"It was so painful losing to Iowa last week," Penn State women's tennis coach Buffy Baker said. "It was a gut feeling that we were going to win the match [today]."

The rematch ended in most dramatic fashion with a 3-3 lock, dependant on the final singles match. Penn State's Sarah Spence took Iowa's Jennifer Hodgman to the third set after letting the first slip away 4-6. Spence rallied to win the second in a score of 6-3 and never looked back from there.

"Right before the third set, I could hear [my opponent] getting frustrated as she talked to her coach," Spence said. "I don't remember her getting like that last week. Her coach was trying to calm her down."

Spence's observation was right on target. Hodgman was unable to score one point in the deciding set. The rest of the Lions got to watch from the sideline as Spence clinched the first tournament win for Penn State in two years.

"I got used to the conditions after the first set and felt very comfortable," Spence said. "It felt really good to beat my opponent and win to win the match."

Like last week, the Lions began the match by claiming the doubles point in both the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. But singles made the difference as Spence and Lindsay Downing claimed the No. 5 and No. 6 wins in Penn State's favor. Maaria Husain repeated her performance from the past weekend and knocked off Iowa's Gloria Okino in two short sets.

But the excitement was put to rest just several hours after the victory when the Lions knew that No. 1 seed Minnesota was waiting for their rematch in the quarterfinal round. Like their match against Iowa, the Lions will take on the Golden Gophers less than one week after their prior match. And, as with Iowa, Penn State previously fell to Minnesota 4-3.

"There is no pressure on us," Baker said. "We have nothing to lose."

Minnesota went 9-1 in the Big Ten this season and claimed the school's first-ever regular-season conference title. However, the attitude is consistent among the Lions in that nobody is invulnerable.

"In no way, shape or form are they unbeatable," Downing said of Minnesota.

Coach Baker said that her team would need to focus on doubles today to gain the momentum early. Last time, the Gophers won all three doubles matches. And in singles, they will need wins from the bottom positions to remain competitive, according to Baker.

The Lions will meet the Gophers at 9 a.m. this morning in hopes of earning passage to Saturday's semifinal bouts. Should they move on from there, the championship match will be held on Sunday.