The No. 63 Penn State men's tennis team's two matches this weekend were as different as night and day, black and white, even Dennis Rodman and Colin Powell.
The Lions (12-8, 3-5 Big Ten) followed a dominant home performance Saturday afternoon against Wisconsin (7-11, 2-5), outplaying the Badgers from the get-go to score a 5-2 victory, with a disappointing showing against No. 42 Northwestern.
Penn State lost by a score of 6-1, with the only point coming on sophomore Malcolm Scatliffe's singles victory against the Wildcats' Tommy Hanus in straight sets.
Scatliffe, ranked as the No. 100 player in the country and one of the weekend's bright spots, won all four of his matches over the weekend homestand. His victory in singles along with a doubles win with senior Roddy Cantey over the 33rd best doubles team in the country helped lift the Lions past Wisconsin.
Cantey, still recovering from a torn meniscus in his right knee, made gritty shot after gritty shot, while toughing it out in four matches of his own.
Cantey, along with fellow seniors Clint Keithley and Todd Stecko, were making their final appearances in Happy Valley. Scatliffe especially understands what they have brought to the team not only in wins but also in heart.
"They all bring a lot of leadership, especially Roddy playing hurt, and we can all learn from them," Scatliffe said. "They've taught me how to deal with all the ups and downs that come with playing every weekend."
Keithley, who came into Saturday one of the team leaders in singles wins, did not fare as well as expected, losing both matches in two sets.
However, his win with freshman Bradley Hunter against Wisconsin was part of a sweep of the Badgers in the three doubles matches that spurred the Lions to victory. The pairing of junior James Crowell and freshman Aaron Ellis combined for the other win. Penn State men's tennis coach Jan Bortner has stressed the importance of picking up the all-important doubles point and saw his team struggle in the area for a good part of the season.
"Let's face it, we have won three Big Ten matches and every time we've won doubles," Bortner said. "Wisconsin won 13 out of 17 doubles matches and we knew that we had to try to challenge that and make a statement."
After being beaten convincingly against Northwestern, Penn State will look to snap a run of inconsistency as they travel to Minnesota and Iowa before the Big Ten Championships in East Lansing, Mich.
Stecko, who split his matches, expressed confidence that the Lions could rebound to get to .500 in the Big Ten.
"That's the good thing about the Big Ten," Stecko said. "You always have another big match every week."
