IU faces 21-0 Illini in final game

The No. 45 IU men's tennis team will return home this weekend for its final regular season contests of the year. The Hoosiers enter the weekend on a five game losing streak, but the team hopes to end its struggles against rival and No. 50 Purdue today. The Hoosiers have a 3-5 record in Big Ten play while the Boilermakers are 6-2. \nAfter starting out with eight straight wins, the Hoosiers have seemingly fallen off the map in the Big Ten. The team has lost eight of its last 11 matches, however a win against Purdue could change that. \nPurdue assistant coach Cris James said in a statement he believes the Hoosiers will come in ready to compete. \n"They have gone through a rough streak lately, but they won some tough matches earlier in the year," he said. "We know they'll be ready for us. We will have to be equally or better prepared in order to beat them on their home court."\nThe Hoosiers will need solid play out of their doubles team. Last weekend, the Hoosiers lost the doubles point to both Minnesota and Iowa, costing them the match against the Hawkeyes. Despite that, James said he believes the Hoosiers have vastly improved since the beginning of the year in doubles.\n"Indiana's doubles teams have steadily improved in the latter part of the season, as have ours," he said. "The doubles point could be very crucial in that match."\nOn Sunday, seniors Zach Held and Petr Novotny will play their final home matches of their career. The Hoosiers will face their toughest opponent of the season in No. 1 ranked Illinois. The Fighting Illini enter this weekend's match with a 21-0 record and an 8-0 record in the Big Ten. The Illini have four of their singles players ranked in the top 15 in the nation as well as two of the top 16 doubles team's in the nation. The Hoosiers have the daunting task of trying to be spoilers however, as a loss this weekend could possibly throw the Illini out of first place in the Big Ten. \nIllinois coach Craig Tiley said he knows his team must come out and play well. \n"We need to play with energy and with a strong desire to perform at a high level," Tiley said. "We need to be as focused as possible, from here on out." \nA win on Sunday by the Hoosiers would mark a huge upset and could put the Hoosiers on the right path going into next weekend's Big Ten tournament.