The No. 63 Penn State men's tennis team (12-8, 3-5 Big Ten) will head into its longest road trip of the season today with the chance to even its Big Ten record at 5-5 while closing out the regular season.
Despite a sub-par conference performance thus far, the Lions remain realistically optimistic about taking at least one match this weekend.
The Lions travel to take on No. 35 Minnesota (12-7, 7-1) tonight at 6:30, and then will travel to Iowa (3-14, 0-8) for a match against the Hawkeyes Sunday at noon. A sweep of the weekend entitles a major upset against the Golden Gophers, a perennial Big Ten power.
"We have to win the matches, we can win. We know we have three matches left to play, two this weekend and one in Michigan State," Penn State assistant men's tennis coach Bill Potoczny said.
"A sweep would be outstanding, but Coach [Bortner] said we have a big match [today] and a huge match Sunday."
Most likely playing on the indoor courts at Iowa, the Lions will have to deal with one of the fastest courts in the nation.
Due to this variable, the Lions held Wednesday practice on the outdoor courts at the Penn State Tennis Center, a faster surface than the Sarni Tennis Center.
The fast surfaces are dangerous tools for hard-serving teams, like Iowa, that populate much of the Big Ten.
Picking up a win against either team this weekend would give the current Penn State roster its best regular season Big Ten record at a defining point in the season.
The improvement shows the success the team has had, battling through adversity all season long, and is a testament to the team's toughness.
The trip also marks the last regular season matches for three seniors; Roddy Cantey, Clint Keithley and Todd Stecko, as well as one junior.
Jim Crowell, a three-year veteran on the team will also be leaving the squad after this season. The difficult decision was made out of respect to the team, something this team has exhibited all season long.
Crowell's future plans to work in finance on Wall Street would conflict with his obligation to the team as he would have to travel for various interviews throughout next year.
He said it would not be fair to the team to stay on as the lone senior and not be there for his teammates and for some matches.
Potoczny came to Penn State three years ago, the same time as Keithley and Crowell.
He has been with these guys for their entire collegiate careers and watched them grow up.
"In three years, it has been amazing to see how they have matured, not only as players, but as men," Potoczny said.
As for his final regular season matches of his Penn State career, Crowell will approach them like he has any other match.
"I'd like to think I play my hardest every time I go out there," Crowell said. "These matches will have a closing feeling and I just need to give 110 percent so I can go out as strong as I can."
