Seniors say goodbye in last home match

For four members of the men's tennis team, this weekend will serve as more than just two more scrappy, endurance-testing conference matches. \nSeniors Milan Rakvica, Ian Arons, Paul Jacobson and Ricardo Jordan will face tough competition as they play host to Ohio State Saturday and Penn State Sunday, but they will also face a somber goodbye as they play their last home matches. \n"It's sad watching the past four years come to an end," Arons said. "It's a tough realization to think that this will be the last chance I may get to work in a team environment like this."\nDespite the emotions going into the matches, the Hoosiers said they are just looking for two things: victories over each conference foe. \n"We are going to be playing with a lot of emotions," junior Rahman Smiley said. "To get our job done, we are going to have to play with a lot of mental strength, and everyone is going to have to fight."\nThe No. 35 Hoosiers' (11-5. 3-3 Big Ten) first opponent, Ohio State, will bring a full load to the table and come to Bloomington at noon Saturday. The No. 24 Buckeyes (18-2, 5-1) stand second in the Big Ten.\n"Ohio State will be a war and nothing short of that," coach Ken Hydinger said. "They are strong up and down the lineup, and they have tough doubles teams."\nThe Hoosiers have had recent success with the Buckeyes and will look to make this match their fifth consecutive win against Ohio State.\nIU will attempt to pick up its fifth consecutive victory against the sputtering Nittany Lions (12-8, 0-6). The sub-par record means the Lions will come out hungry, Smiley said.\n"They are struggling right now, but they have good players," Smiley said. "They are going to come in with the mind-set that they have nothing to lose. We just have to stay in the mind-set that we do have something to gain."\nWith two conference victories this weekend, the Hoosiers could push their Big Ten Conference above the .500 mark for the first time in spring conference play. But IU does not count on rolling past any league opponents. \n"These teams are tough teams and are always hard-nosed competitors," Hydinger said. "They are going to be scrappy and well-coached just like all the Big Ten teams. We are just going to have to go out there to fight. It will be emotional. We will have to stay focused mentally"