Penn State men's tennis head coach Todd Doebler said he was looking forward to a dogfight.
The battle that Doebler mentioned was obviously no animal cruelty statement, but rather an assessment of the competition that the No. 40 Nittany Lions will face in the Big Ten beginning 3 p.m. today against Iowa.
Penn State (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) has already seen some Big Ten matches mixed in between teams like St. John's, Cornell, and other non-conference walkovers. The Lions beat Northwestern, 4-3, and then lost to Wisconsin by the same score on the same road trip.
During the first Saturday of spring break the Lions had what, by definition, would be considered an upset, knocking off then-No. 21 Michigan, 4-3, in Ann Arbor.
Their first test is the wildly inconsistent Hawkeyes. Iowa (7-5, 0-2) has beaten then-No. 61 DePaul, 5-2, but last week lost heavily to both No. 3 Ohio State, 7-0 and No. 71 Indiana, 6-1.
On Sunday, the Lions will be in Minneapolis and take on No. 23 Minnesota (12-4, 2-1) at 11:30 a.m. EST, 10:30 a.m. CDT at the Baseline Tennis Center.
Penn State split last year's series with both the Golden Gophers and the Hawkeyes. In the regular season, Penn State lost on the road to both by scores of 5-2. In the 2006 Big Ten Championships the Lions knocked off both teams, winning 6-1 against the Hawkeyes and edging the Golden Gophers, 4-3.
"Iowa did beat them in the regular season, so that's fresh on their minds," Doebler said, adding that the team is focused on the entire trip.
Minnesota, however, holds a heavy advantage in the all-time series, 14-2.
On Wednesday, the Gophers fell to No. 3 Ohio State, 7-0 in Columbus. Minnesota failed to win a single match, losing 3-0 in doubles and 6-0 in singles. Prior to the loss against the Buckeyes, Minnesota had not lost a regular season conference match in almost a year when Illinois beat it last April.
The matches will be the second test for a new-look Lions' doubles pairing. Doebler, who continually emphasizes the importance of the doubles point, made the changes before the Michigan match.
In Penn State's two losses this year, to Wisconsin and Virginia Tech, the Lions failed to get the doubles point -- and did not win a single doubles match.
Penn State senior Ryan Berger is now paired with junior Michael James. James' former doubles partner, sophomore Adam Slagter, now teams with freshman Ryan Gormley. Senior Bradley Hunter partners with junior James Dwyer.
"[The doubles teams gives the team] more of a solid performance in 1-3 doubles," Doebler said. "Earlier in the season that was a problem."
This is only the third road trip that the Lions have been on during the spring season. So far, they are 4-1 away from Penn State. The real concern is not the location of the match -- it is the competition in conference play.
"Every match in the Big Ten is going to be a battle," Doebler said, "and no team should be overlooked."
Notes: Both Iowa and Minnesota have indoor courts, which should not come into play this weekend. According to accuweather.com, there is a chance of rain around 4 p.m. today in Iowa City. For Sunday's match AccuWeather says that it will be sunny and 60 degrees in Minneapolis.
