The Penn State women's tennis team competed in the Big Ten Championships this past week in Champaign, Ill., at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 9 in the Big Ten, carried an overall record of 7-13 into the Championships.

The women faced off against the University of Iowa on Wednesday in the first round of the Big Tens. The women were looking for a close match after a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Iowa in the second-to-last match of the regular season on April 19.

The women seemed to follow suit of their past meeting with Iowa. The Lions clinched the elusive doubles point with a sweep of all three matches. The No. 1 doubles team of junior Leigh Ann Merryman and sophomore Maaria Husain defeated Steffi Hoch and Gloria Okino, 8-5.

Sophomore Megan Marton and senior Judy Wang won at No. 2 doubles, 8-6, against Cassie Haas and Deni Alexandrova. The No. 3 pair of sophomore Sarah Spence and freshman standout Lindsay Downing tied their set against Jennifer Hodgman and Chelsea Glynn, 8-8, then won 4-2 for the tiebreaker.

The women also looked strong in singles competition. Husain won her No. 3 singles match against Okino, 7-6, 6-2. Downing took her No. 5 match in straight sets, 7-6, 6-1, against Alexandrova that tied the match 3-3.

Spence took her No. 6 singles match against Hodgman to three sets, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. Spence's victory broke the match tie and gave the Lions a 4-3 victory, advancing them to the next round of the Big Tens against No. 1 ranked Minnesota.

In a press release, Penn State women's tennis coach Buffy Baker said she was pleased with her team's performance. She stated that the women maintained their composure, which makes a difference in close matches.

The women were unable to capitalize on their win the previous day, losing 4-1 to the regular season Big Ten Champions, the Golden Gophers of Minnesota, on April 25.

The women lost the doubles point, winning only the No. 2 spot, with a 7-7 tie-breaking win from Hussain and Wang against Amy Thomas and Valerie Vladea of Minnesota.

The Lions also struggled in singles competition, with their only victory coming from Husain. Husain won her No. 3 match, 6-3, 6-3 against Thomas.

Minnesota went on to qualify for the championship match yesterday, in which it lost 4-2 to Northwestern. With the win, the Wildcats took their fifth straight Big Ten title.

The women finished the 2003 season 8-14 overall and 3-9 in the Big Ten.