It's a rare occurrence when a team showcases two completely different sides to itself in such a short time span of time.

But for the Penn State men's tennis team, the final weekend of its regular season brought the realization that the Big Ten Conference is one of the toughest in the country, as Penn State finished up its regular season this weekend by splitting two matches against Big Ten rivals.

The No. 41 Nittany Lions fell to No. 3 Ohio State, 5-2, on Friday but bounced back yesterday to defeat No. 64 Indiana, 4-3. The win over the Hoosiers puts the Lions fourth in the Big Ten, giving them a first-round date with Wisconsin in the upcoming Big Ten tournament.

The Lions were heavy underdogs against a Buckeye team that was a perfect 8-0 in the Big Ten, and they came out playing that way . Penn State lost the doubles point for the third consecutive time and couldn't regain the lead in the first match held outdoors this season.

"We definitely started a little flat against both Michigan State and Ohio State," sophomore Adam Slagter said. "We needed to start out with as much energy and effort as possible, and I don't think we did. I know we didn't play as hard as we could've."

The silver lining in the loss to Ohio State came in the No. 2 doubles match, where Slagter and junior James Dwyer knocked off the 16th-ranked doubles team in the country in the pair's first match together.

Despite the loss, Penn State used the time in between matches to discuss its disappointing performance and how to fix some of the problems that have haunted them all season, and it seemed to work.

Penn State began its match with the Hoosiers on fire. The Lions took two of the three doubles matches to win the doubles point that had been their biggest area of struggle.

"Earning that doubles point turned out to be a big momentum boost," Penn State head coach Todd Doebler said. "Everyone fought really hard from the start, and with such an important match at stake, it was crucial to start off on a good note."

The Lions were able to carry over the momentum from the doubles matches, as they secured wins in three of the six singles matches to close out their sixth conference victory.

After posting seven-straight singles match wins, junior Michael James dropped his second consecutive contest, falling to Indiana's Thomas Richter in straight sets. Both Slagter and senior Bradley won easily in straight sets. However, with Hunter finishing his Nittany Lion career with a 67-31 record.

Penn State will now head into the Big Ten tournament with a 6-4 record and signature wins over No. 17 Michigan and No. 34 Minnesota. The tournament will take place at Purdue University, where Penn State last visited in 2006.

"We're ready," Slagter said. "I think we've got a first round match up with either Wisconsin or Minnesota, and we'll be ready. I'm not going to get much sleep this week, but I'm going to be excited and prepared along with the rest of our guys to come out and show the Big Ten what we've got."