Slumping netmen to face streaking Huskies today

Amid the disappointment of a 1-6 Big Ten mark, the Penn State men's tennis team will try to stay unbeaten in non-conference play at home.

The No. 70 Nittany Lions (10-9, 1-6 Big Ten) will host Div. II powerhouse Bloomsburg in their final home match of the season at 6:30 p.m. today at Sarni Tennis Center.

Penn State comes off a frustrating weekend in which it lost two conference matches in the confines of the Penn State Tennis Center.

Last Saturday the Lions were swept 7-0 by No. 2 Illinois. Last Sunday, they lost a heartbreaker to No. 34 Northwestern, 4-3.

The Illinois match saw the Lions doubles team of senior Mike Griesser and sophomore Marc McCallister lose its first in-conference match of the year, being outgunned 8-3 by Illinois' Matt Snyder and Jakub Teply. Griesser and McCallister rebounded against Northwestern, beating the Wildcats' tandem of Derrick Nguyen and Jamie Sahara, 8-6.

Griesser and McCallister also had the only singles wins against Northwestern. At No. 2 singles, Griesser beat Martin Bengtsson, 6-2, 6-2, while McCallister beat Sahara, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Bloomsburg (12-4) comes into town riding a three-match winning streak. The Huskies most recently beat Binghamton, 6-1. They boast Swedish-raised senior Marcus Nilsson at No. 1 singles and senior Rob Dixon at No. 2 singles. Nilsson and Dixon have posted an 11-2 mark this season at No. 1 doubles.

The Lions have a 9-3 non-conference record this season, with three of those wins and all three losses coming on the road.

-- By Brad Stratton