Numbers don't lie, but they can be deceiving.

The No. 62 Penn State men's tennis team's 6-1 loss to No. 3 Illinois on Saturday might not seem like a close contest, but it was only a few points separating the Nittany Lions from a closer game, or even a stunning upset.

The Lions went deep into matches with a team that has destroyed highly ranked opponents all season. Forcing three three-set matches, including two tie-breaks, the Lions proved to be a handful for the Illini.

"You have to be happy with the effort but disappointed because ... we had some chances [to win]," Penn State coach Jan Bortner said. "On the plus side, the guys elevated their games, and they went toe-to-toe with an outstanding team."

Giving the Lions their only point was freshman Michael James, who won at No. 5 singles 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 against Ryan Rowe. That typified the Lions' resolve in the match, giving the defending Big Ten champs quite a scare.

"Illinois is a great team and to start off in the Big Ten 1-0, hopefully I can build off that and have a good season," James said.

One of the best chances the Lions had was Mark Barry's near-upset of the No. 1 singles player in the country, Ryler Deheart. Barry took him to a tie break in the third set, falling 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Barry was serving, leading 5-4 in the first set, before Deheart broke Barry's serve and rattled off three straight games to win the first set.

"It was a big-time match," Bortner said. "The quality level of tennis on a scale of one to 10, that would be a 10. It was two outstanding players playing at a very high level."

Although the Lions dropped a tough match on Saturday, they rebounded, sweeping Toledo 7-0 yesterday. They took every match in straight sets, and the Lions improved their doubles play. The duo of Malcolm Scatliffe and Barry shut out Toledo's Josh Moran and Brian Rager 8-0 to set the tone.

"I like the way our guys rebounded. The thing you always like to see the second day is you're always anxious to see the energy the guys bring," Bortner said. "The other thing you're looking for is ... if your guys have that knockout punch."

And though the Lions threw that punch against Toledo, Illinois, like a great team, was able to put away the charged-up Penn State squad.

"You have to give Illinois credit," Bortner said. "We knocked them down a little bit, but every time it looked like we would take charge in a match, they'd come right back -- that's why they're No. 3 in the country."

While their record will show the weekend as split decision for the Lions, they can take from it the confidence and experience of battling one of the best teams in the country.

"It can definitely show other teams that we are a force to be reckoned with," Penn State's Bradley Hunter said. "Any team can look at collegetennisonline.com and see that we took Illinois to three three-setters and all the singles matches were just one break in each set that we lost."