Coming off its best Big Ten finish ever, a 5-5 record, the No. 60 Penn State men's tennis team will look to build off of last spring by starting conference play on the road.

The Nittany Lions (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten) are heading west, to take on Purdue at 1 p.m. tomorrow and then conference powerhouse Illinois at 11 a.m. Sunday.

After running through the first leg of the spring season, the Lions must be at their best to take on Big Ten foes on the road. If Penn State wants to improve from last spring, the best way would be better last year's 2-4 conference record on the road.

Strong doubles last weekend against Cornell are a must for the Lions, who will need to step up that part of their game even more to be successful in the conference.

"Our doubles combinations at Cornell showed they can be very successful," Penn State head coach Bill Potoczny said. "Cornell is an outstanding doubles team, but Purdue is every bit as good, if not better, and Illinois is certainly better."

The Lions have not won the doubles point against the No. 67 Boilermakers for years, junior Ryan Berger said. Winning that key first point of the overall match should help get Penn State's great singles lineup rolling.

While the doubles point will be a main priority against Purdue, the Lions should have success in singles against a team they defeated last season 5-2 at home. A day later, the entire lineup must be at its best to even compete with No. 3 Illinois.

"When you go up against a team with the reputation and ability that Illinois has, you want your guys ready to fight," Potoczny said. "You want guys to say, 'This is Illinois, but I'm coming after you -- I'm Penn State.' "

"If guys play hard and come out feisty, you can appreciate that as a coach."

One player who certainly came after Illinois in last spring's 6-1 loss was senior co-captain Mark Barry. The senior battled the nation's top-ranked player, Ryler DeHeart, in a thrilling three-set battle that DeHeart ended up winning 7-5, 4-6, 7-6.

"That was just an incredible match, anyone who saw it felt like they just watched two pros go at it," Potoczny said. "[Illinois has] three guys that are just incredible, but no matter who Mark plays, he has shown he is capable of playing with anybody -- whoever he plays is in for a fight."

The Lions can reasonably come away from the weekend with a .500 record in the Big Ten, the same percentage as last season, a team-best. Whatever the outcome however, the Penn State players have been waiting since last spring for this opportunity.

"We've been working hard since last fall and so far this spring to get ready for the Big Ten," Berger said. "That's why we came here -- our main goal is to compete in the Big Ten."