The ISU tennis team will stay home to face Missouri and Nebraska-Omaha Friday and Saturday afternoons.

One thought dominates the tennis team in preparation for this weekend.

“Win,” said sophomore Chrissy Derouin.

The Cyclones catch Missouri at a time when the Tigers have lost four of their previous five matches, winning the lone nonconference game against Wichita State.

Missouri and Iowa State are the only winless teams in the conference, but the team doesn’t worry about that.

“I think the team’s ready and real excited to play,” said Cyclone Coach Michele Conlon. “Glad to be home, great atmosphere and great crowd.”

This will be the last home conference match of the season, and also comes during Senior Week. The team is looking forward to celebrating for seniors Beth Chermel and Charlotte Ljungkrantz, who are also winless on the season.

To get there, however, the team will need to build on personal momentum to carry them to the tournaments.

“We have a couple more [matches] that we need to go all-out on to get ready for those conference tournaments,” Conlon said.

The Cyclones are simultaneously preparing for conference tournaments, where, regardless of season records, everyone has a chance to win. The competitive atmosphere should prove to be heaven for a team that loves to compete.

The Cyclones have a road match against Nebraska, which rounds out the season.

The match serves as a tune-up for Nebraska-Omaha, a team undefeated in the North Central Conference. They close the regular season with the match against the Cyclones before beginning the North Central Conference Tournament.

“We’re just really excited to be playing these two teams,” Derouin said.

Junior Danielle Uscinski and Derouin want to add to their team-best six doubles wins. Chermel and freshman Kara Hickey have five wins.

Uscinski also leads the team in singles wins, with five, as well. Sophomore Caitlin Loprinzi, Hickey and redshirt junior Eve Soriano tie for second-highest on the team with three wins apiece.

Junior Jill Palen beat Missouri’s best player last year when the teams faced each other, defeating nationally-ranked Katka Sevcikova. Sevcikova was ranked as high as No. 63 that season. Palen scored the only Cyclones point, as the team dropped the match 6-1.

The match against Missouri will take place at noon Friday at the Forker Courts, and the match against Nebraska-Omaha is also at noon Saturday.