The Penn State women's tennis team knew all along what it was capable of, it just took time for the Nittany Lions to go out and prove it in a big match.

After dropping a 4-3 match to Middle Tennessee State on Saturday, in which they lost all three doubles matches, the Lions came roaring back the next day to get a 4-3 upset win over No. 63 Marshall. The team clinched the match when No. 5 Katelyn BeVard pulled out a second-set tiebreaker to win, 6-4, 7-6.

While BeVard's match sealed the win, the difference in the match once again came down to doubles. The Lions had not won the doubles point in a match since they defeated Temple on Jan. 29. The team's doubles looked to be suffering from the same problems that had plagued it so far this season against Middle Tennessee State. All three doubles matches were extremely close and were decided when the Lions were unable to execute under pressure.

After the match, the team and head coach Buffy Baker decided to take a different approach when they took on Marshall. Baker felt that the team was trying too hard in doubles and wasn't played relaxed enough to win.

The new strategy turned out to be very effective, as the team won at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to pick up the point. The 9-7 win at first doubles by Maaria Husain and Sarah Spence was especially significant because it was over a Marshall pair, Joelle Good and Danielle Hock, that is one of the top 50 teams in the country.

"We told them to just go out and have fun and communicate with their partner," Baker said. "I was very pleased to see the turn around."

After the doubles win, the team continued its stellar play through the singles matches. No. 1 Husain and No. 6 Jenny Schular both easily won their singles matches in straight sets. The two players have become solid bookends to the team's singles lineup, consistently winning their matches in each outing. Schular, in particular, has not lost a singles match this season.

Marshall was able to keep the match close and won at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4. With the two teams tied, the match came down to the No. 5 court, where BeVard won the first set and was embroiled in a dogfight for the second.

After taking the match to a tiebreak, BeVard lost three match points and saved four match points before finally getting the win in an epic 14-12 tiebreaker.

"We knew that when she played her game, controlling the points, she was able to get an unforced error from the girl she was playing," Baker said.

After losing tightly played 4-3 matches in its last two outings, getting the upset against Marshall was a nice confidence boost as well as reassurance for the team of what it is capable of.

"It reaffirms what all along we knew we could do," Baker said. "It was a great indicator and [the players] needed it."