After four days and beating the best tennis players from 41 different Division I schools, three Nittany Lions looked to get through one more day and earn championships.

However, the doubles team of Adam Slagter and Michael James and singles player Brendan Lynch fell short of winning titles yesterday at the Wilson/ITA Northeast Regional Championships at the University of Pennsylvania.

Slagter and James took on Brown's Basudev Ratnam and Eric Thomas in the finals, with a chance to advance to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.

Slagter and James fell behind early in the match 4-1, rallying to tie the match at 4-4. Ratnam and Thomas eventually won, 8-5.

"Adam and M.J. are very competitive, they really did a great job of coming back, playing with energy and enthusiasm," Penn State head coach Todd Doebler said. "Unfortunately, they couldn't execute their first serve percentages and didn't take advantage of key opportunities."

The duo of Slagter and James beat three top ten seeds in the tournament, including the No. 1 seed, before being ousted in the finals.

"We kept it easy and simple, nothing too different or fancy, just in your face doubles," Slagter said. "We had high first [serve percentages] and good returns. We were keeping it physical and making our presence felt."

Needing one win to advance to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, Lynch was looking to get past Columbia's Jared Drucker to earn a spot in the finals.

Lynch was able to jump out to an early lead against Drucker in the first set, but Drucker rallied to take the set, 6-4. Drucker continued his surge into the second set, taking an early lead and cruising to a 6-4 victory.

Lynch's run to the semifinals saw him defeat a handful of top players, including the No. 1 seed and defending champion Brandon Wai of Yale.

"Brendan had an outstanding tournament, he raised his level of play," Doebler said. "He proved that he can beat some of the top guys in the region."

The Nittany Lions will next take the court on Nov. 11 when they take part in the Big Ten Individual Championships at the University of Michigan.

"The guys will take a lot of confidence from this," Doebler said. "It will motivate them to get better and elevate their games."