The last time the No. 52 Penn State men's tennis team faced off against Iowa, the match was something to forget.
The Nittany Lions (15-5, 5-5 Big Ten) were dropped 5-2 by the last-place Hawkeyes (6-12, 1-9) two weeks ago in Iowa, completing an 0-2 weekend that threatened their postseason chances.
This time around, the Lions take with them the No. 6 seed to face No. 11 Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten tournament at 1 p.m. today in Minnesota.
The winner of the match will take on the No. 3 seed and host Minnesota (12-11, 7-3) -- the loser goes home.
"Anytime you get a second chance in life, you've got to be excited about it," Penn State coach Bill Potoczny said. "That's the great thing about athletics, you always get another shot."
The Lions must not have revenge as the only thing on their mind, however, when trying to advance in the conference tournament.
"You can't just play with emotion or just for redemption," Potoczny said. "Obviously it's a chance, but you want to get the guys focused on their fundamentals."
With a win against Iowa, the Lions would also get another crack at redemption against Minnesota, who also beat them 5-2 at the start of the same weekend they lost to the Hawkeyes. The prospect of having a win in the tournament already before taking on the host team is a pleasant.
"It's good that we could have a match under our belts before Minnesota," Penn State senior co-captain and No. 68-ranked Mark Barry said. "We're looking forward to getting another chance at them. Last time it was close in doubles, and we had two really close singles matches. If we won those, then we win the match 4-3."
Having to play in the first round may seem like an obstacle, but Potoczny sees it as an advantage. With being able to get away from the pressures of exams and getting on the court can help the Lions focus on the matches at hand, Potoczny said.
If the Lions can advance to the third round against a team like No. 1-seeded Ohio State, the doors are open for a possible NCAA tournament berth, the perennial goal for Penn State.
Potoczny likes his team's chances if they are able to string together consecutive wins together. However, not one player on the current team has ever been in a situation like that, Barry said.
"This tournament is just a chance for us to show everyone in the Big Ten exactly what we can do," Barry said.
