Racquetball is sort of like tennis and sort of like squash -- but different.

"Racquetball is played with a bouncier ball, almost a tennis ball. A squash ball is smaller and bounces hardly at all. With squash, you can't hit the ceiling. It's more of a defensive game," Penn State Racquetball President Alex Barch said.

There are two basic rules that experienced players use to teach the game to novices.

The first rule is to hit the ball so it hits the front wall before it touches the floor. Then after it hits the front wall, the other player has to get to it before it bounces twice.

The racquetball team has been putting these principles to use as it competes in regional and national competitions this past year.

"Our teams have done very well this year. The girls' team finished third in the country, and the men's team finished 15th in the country," said Vice President Mark Denlinger.

How does the team decided what players rank high enough to go to these competitions?

The team applies a well-known proverb to their every practice: to be the best, you gotta beat the best.

The club team allows its members to take part in a challenging system so that lower-ranked players can challenge players up to three seeds above them on the team "ladder."

So essentially, if player A is ranked No. 9 and player B is ranked No. 6, A can challenge B in hopes of beating him and taking his spot.

As a player attempts to climb the ladder, however, the players continue to get more and more competitive so that the best players can be found at the top.

"It keeps people competitive and gets new people involved," Barch said. "It helps the club grow just by throwing them into the ladder."

"New players that missed the seeding tournament can hop onto the bottom of the ladder and challenge up throughout the year," added Denlinger.

Barch, also the coach and co-captain, said that although anyone can take part in the club and have fun, the top spots continue to belong to a select few who have trained hard for a long time.

"It's a pretty serious following," Barch said. "We drill almost everyday. We practice, we run, we're pretty into it."

Aside from just running and training, the team has practices three times a week.

During these practices, Barch and his co-captain Denlinger often travel from court to court and play with the less-experienced players. Barch said it was an easy way to make the other club players feel comfortable as well as give them pointers.

Barch also noted that the women's team has also had a very high degree of success, and that they have an extremely talented prospect for next year.

"We might have a girl coming in next year that was junior national champion. She's real gung-ho about Penn State," Barch said.