Just as he had done for the past 23 years, departing Penn State men's tennis coach Jan Bortner watched his players grind out points for the Blue and White.

He offered advice to his players between games, and his advice must have paid off because his Nittany Lions routed both St. Bonaventure and Niagara during the weekend.

Freshman Alex Mast, playing his first collegiate match of his career, said that with the support of his teammates and coaches, he was able to overcome any nervousness on his way to a victory in straight sets.

Needless to say, it was business as usual for the Lions against most of their opponents from the East. However, for all the coaches and players knew, this could have been the last for Bortner, who was named assistant athletic director last Thursday.

When the Lions travel to Flushing Meadows, N.Y., on Thursday before the Eastern College Athletic Conference Invitational, assistant coach Bill Potoczny will lead them.However, Bortner will rejoin the team Friday after finishing up some of his new administrative duties and will coach alongside Potoczny for the Lions' contests for the rest of the weekend.

No decision has been made on an interim head coach at this point, leaving another large question mark above the heads of the Lions at the start of the year.

When Bortner addressed his team last Wednesday, the news could have caused a major distraction for the season-opening Penn State Fall Classic during the weekend.

"That's one thing I was happy about with our guys this weekend: They stayed in the present tense, we always talk about 'accomplish the task' -- get the job done," Bortner said. "They did that -- they were focused, I was focused, and we just concentrated on going out and having some fun and playing some good tennis, and they did that."

The Lions were able to block out the distractions and come out strong, sweeping every match during the weekend and winning in straight sets across the board.

For senior co-captain Mark Barry, it was a matter of going about things the way he had always done and not dwelling on the momentous change taking place at the start of his final season.

"I try not to think about it -- I thought about it during practice last week, and I didn't want it to get around," Barry said. "When the time comes, when he knows for sure that he won't be doing anything else, maybe I'll think about it a little more then.

"But for now I'll just try to keep it out of my head."

For the Lions to be successful this weekend at the ECACs, they will have to follow Barry's lead and try to be at the top of their games for what, once again, very well may be Bortner's last match as head coach.