"We all have one goal -- to make the NCAAs," Barry said.

The first major step on the journey to the National Championships begins this fall at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Invitational in New York City later this month. The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the National Indoor Team Championships in the spring and a chance to increase its national rankings, which are so crucial to an NCAA berth. In New York the Lions will try to avenge two straight loses to Harvard in the finals.

"We're looking to win this year, and it's looking like Harvard will be our No. 1 competition," Scatliffe said. "Our main goal is to win it, and anything else is going to be a disappointment."

In order to come out of the ECACs on top, the Lions must improve their biggest weak spot: doubles play. The story all spring was very strong singles play, yet the Lions could never seem to capture the doubles point in big matches.

"Right now, from the start, we'll be doing a lot of serving, volleying, working on the doubles," Penn State coach Jan Bortner said at the start of the team's first official practice yesterday.

The doubles pairings from last season were consistent, but this fall the Lions can tinker with the teams to try to find the right combinations for improvement.

However with Scatliffe and Barry teaming at the No. 1 spot and veterans filling out the rotation, it may be tough for anyone to crack that lineup. Juniors Bradley Hunter and Ryan Berger played at the No. 2 spot in the spring and steadily improved as the season progressed, as did the freshman duo of Michael James and Chris Sherman, who with a year of experience should only get better.

The freshmen will look to contribute anywhere they can, and according to Scatliffe, newcomer Adam Slagter could help immediately at doubles.

The other freshmen, Brendan Lynch and Alex Mast, must use this fall to earn a spot for team competition in the spring.

"Early on the key thing is to give the young guys an opportunity to show what they can do," Bortner said. "The freshmen are hungry to earn a spot and they'll challenge the vets.

"That's what you want -- you want them to keep the veterans on their toes."

While doubles may be a great shot for the freshmen to contribute, the stellar play at singles will make for a battle for playing time. Barry, an All-Big Ten selection is coming off a year when he earned a spot in the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championships.

Scatliffe, the No. 2 singles player, is looking to build off of last fall's campaign, when the he was invited to the Fall All-American Championships. Bortner said that Barry, based on his national ranking (No. 73) and his success last spring, should get that same invite this fall.

Berger was a stopgap for the Lions at the No. 3 spot, racking up an impressive 27-7 record and Hunter, a two-year starter, was solid at No. 4. Sophomores James Dwyer and James were impressive in their rookie campaigns, holding down the Nos. 5 and 6 spots all spring, in some cases deciding matches for their team.

"Whoever plays at No. 5 and 6 this year will have earned it," Bortner said.

The young players will get a chance to earn that playing time on Sept. 24, at the Penn State Invitational, the Lions' first action of the season.

With so much depth and so much at stake in the spring, success this fall could be crucial to the Lions, who, according to Bortner are starting a season with, "big hopes, big expectations and big goals."