Go big -- or go home.

That could be the motto for the No. 70 Penn State men's tennis team because of its recent play. The Nittany Lions (11-3, 0-2 Big Ten) have been either blowing out opponents, having won their last seven matches with shutouts, or being beaten soundly by two tough Big Ten opponents.

The Lions went big on Friday, defeating Duquesne 7-0 at the Blair Racquet Club in Altoona. In their final non-conference match of the season, the Lions were impressive, sweeping the doubles to start things off. The No. 1 duo of Malcolm Scatliffe and Mark Barry took down Paul Clough and Rodrigo Lacayo, 8-1. That match did give the young team its first real brush with the adversity of a key injury, as Scatliffe injured his shoulder during a serve late in the match. Not wanting to take any chances during singles, Scatliffe sat out of his No. 2 singles spot, and the entire lineup moved up a spot. All of the players stepped up and won their matches in straight sets, a display of the team's prowess at singles.

"Our singles continues to be a strength," Bortner said. "We've done some good things there, and we're still improving -- but we've got to get better at the doubles, which is still not up to par with our singles."

The shift in the lineup set the stage for freshman Chris Sherman, the talented doubles player, to see some action at No. 6 singles. The freshman took care of business, beating Rob Ojeda, 6-1, 6-0.

"In the Big Ten there are situations where different guys need to step in," Bortner said. "You need seven or eight guys who can play in order to be competitive."