Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Salukis set to play Northern Illinois at University Courts
03/20/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - After earning the season's first outdoor win at home on Tuesday, the SIU men's tennis team (4-9) returns to University Courts on Saturday to take on a tough opponent in Northern Illinois (12-3).
Following a tough string of matches in Mississippi and Alabama, the Salukis spent time in the south over the university's spring break getting quality practice in and acclimating to outdoor play. The practice proved worthwhile as SIU topped Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, 5-2.
"We got some quality practice in over break that really helped us be ready to play outdoors here," head coach Dann Nelson said. "We really enjoy playing outside and we feel like we have a home advantage being here in Carbondale, so we're looking forward to playing our remaining home matches outdoors."
The Salukis' main focus is strength of play across the board - from the No. 1 spot down to No. 6. The bottom half of SIU's line up stepped up on Tuesday, helping the Salukis bounce back after tough losses at the No. 1 and No. 3 singles spots.
"We talked to the team the other day about guys needing to step up, so that was huge that they did - especially our bottom of the lineup guys," Nelson said. "We have to lift up our guys when they're having a bad day or run into a good opponent, and that's what happened."
Northern Illinois brings a high level of competition to University Courts after winning nine of its last 10 matches, including four consecutive wins coming into this weekend. Last year the Salukis faced the Huskies at a neutral site, falling 6-1 at the beginning of the spring season.
"They have a really good record and they've played some really good teams, so we're expecting another good Northern team," Nelson said. "We're hoping to use some of the confidence we gained with the win against Eastern on Tuesday and to keep moving along with that to transition into playing Northern."
Match time is 10 a.m. at University Courts on SIU's campus.
