Only having to play one match this weekend won't mean any less work for the No. 47 Penn State men's tennis team.

The Nittany Lions (13-2, 3-2 Big Ten) will host No. 4 Ohio State at noon Sunday outside at the Sarni Tennis Center, weather permitting.

Last weekend's sweep of Northwestern and Wisconsin got Penn State's Big Ten record back on track. After breaking a six-year losing streak to the Wildcats, the Lions will be looking to break a similar streak of defeats at the hand of the Buckeyes (16-1, 4-0). Penn State head coach Bill Potoczny said that in his tenure at Penn State (he came on as an assistant in 2001), the Lions have been winless against them.

"For a long time, Ohio State has been one of the dominant teams in the Big Ten," Potoczny said. "They've hit a new level [a top-5 ranking] but have been good for a very long time."

While the Lions usually have conference matches on the Friday and then Sunday of a weekend, they will have an extra two days to prepare for one of their biggest challenges of the spring.

"It's a more clear-cut focus, we can focus more on the guys we'll play," senior co-captain Malcolm Scatliffe said. "We have a one-track focus, so we can give it all for that match.

It's very motivating to beat a top-10 team, you only get a chance to so many times."

The Lions will have to be focused and at their very best to beat a deep Buckeyes team with four nationally ranked players. Because the Buckeyes have the luxury of being able to change their lineup around, it will be tough to prepare for each player's opponent in singles, Scatliffe said.

With such a deep lineup, Ohio State could make the singles a problem for the Lions, putting, as always, a premium on the doubles point. The Buckeyes, however, boast the nation's No. 2 doubles pairing of Scott Green and Ross Wilson. That senior duo won back-to-back national championships in doubles to start their collegiate careers and have never lost a doubles match to Penn State.

The good news is the Lions have shown the ability to win a match this season without the doubles point, like last Sunday against Wisconsin.

"The doubles point is always important, but for us it's not do-or-die," Scatliffe said.

If the weather is kind to the team on Sunday and the match is held outdoors, playing outside could help the Lions if they fail to capture the doubles point.

"When you're playing a team like that indoors, it's a little hard to stop the momentum or to slow them down," Potoczny said.

If they end up playing outdoors, Potoczny said the Lions will have to get the home crowd into the match by lengthening each point.

"If each guy can feel like, 'I can compete with this guy,' then they can go out and take that opportunity," he said. "Sometimes guys feel the need to play beyond themselves -- we have to avoid that."