So far this spring for the No. 51 Penn State men's tennis team, its matches have been all-or-nothing contests.

The Nittany Lions (9-1, 1-1 Big Ten) rebounded from their first loss two weeks ago against No. 2 Illinois, a 7-0 shutout, to record three straight shutouts during the last week.

Defeating Toledo at home, 7-0, the Lions then traveled to Altamonte Springs, Fla., for their spring break trip.

On the trip the Lions trained a lot, having two-a-day practices all week as well as fitting in two matches against Robert Morris University and St. Peter's College. Both matches were swept by the Lions, 7-0.

"When we go to Florida, it's mostly to train," Penn State head coach Bill Potoczny said. "Our opponents have to fit our schedule. The good news was guys were very professional in their matches where they had the potential to win big -- and they did that."

In the matches played in Florida, Penn State only lost a total of 13 games in 12 singles matches. The Lions also swept every doubles match during the two contests.

"I'm proud of how they played well and handled it with class, giving credit to their opponents when the situation came up even when we were clearly the stronger team," Potoczny said. "They lived by our motto of fearing nobody but respecting everyone."

Perhaps the fiercest competition the Lions saw was against their own teammates during two-hour match play sessions in the afternoons.

"They took it very seriously, the guys knew it was a chance to make a statement about getting into the lineup," Potoczny said.

Potoczny also had the team working a lot on doubles in Florida, after a strong showing against Toledo. Junior Ryan Berger called the doubles play against the Rockets a good stepping stone for the rest of the way.

While the Lions could have scrimmaged against each other, worked on doubles and played a few lesser opponents in Happy Valley, the advantage of going south was to finally get outdoors.

Getting used to playing outside with wind was the main goal for the trip, Potoczny said. The outdoor game requires stronger baseline play than indoor tennis and also requires more accurate serving. However both could be potential strengths for Penn State.

"It was good to get outside and actually get used to playing outdoors," senior co-captain Mark Barry said. "Some guys on our team are more outdoor players than indoor, so it's good to play in different conditions."

Although the team started Big Ten play more than three weeks ago, it has had time to train and work with some easier matches, until seeing No. 54 Virginia Tech on Sunday.

"We're looking forward to Virginia Tech right now, they're pretty much dead even with us in rankings and with players," Barry said. "If we can get that win, I think we will be rolling from there into the Big Ten matches."