Penn State head coach Bill Potoczny liked what he saw during the team's 7-0 win against Bucknell on Wednesday night. The Lions took the doubles point to start the match and relied on their strong singles play to earn the sweep. The doubles play will be a key against Cornell tomorrow, Potoczny said.
"It's going to be a battle," Potoczny said of the match with the Big Red. "They have great doubles and are tough to play at home.
If they get out and jump on us, it's going to be a lot of hard work for us to get back in it."
While the lineup was solid up and down for the Lions on Wednesday night, Potoczny is still not sure of the availability of junior Brad Hunter, who had missed time with an injury.
Penn State's coach used the match against Bucknell to evaluate whether or not his player was ready to go for Cornell and was not completely optimistic.
However with the team's depth, any hole in the lineup should be readily filled. Sophomore Chris Sherman has experience playing at the No. 3 doubles spot where Hunter teamed with Berger against Bucknell.
Sophomore James Dwyer and freshmen Adam Slagter and Brendan Lynch have all had success at the No. 6 singles spot, which will likely be up for grabs if Hunter is not ready to go.
No matter which lineup will take the court tomorrow, the Lions will be in for a fight, and it will just be a question of whether they are ready for it.
"It's a tough place to play -- they have a hostile crowd," senior co-captain Malcolm Scatliffe said of the Big Red. "It's fun though, I like when the crowd gets into it If we play well and play to our potential, we'll have a good match."
The return home against Lafayette will mark the Lions' fifth match in just more than a week. Win or lose against Cornell, they must be ready to go with a short rest once again in the young season.
"It's been pretty tough, it's going to test our conditioning -- but I think we're well prepared," Lynch said earlier this week.
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