Road warriors.

That’s the ideal philosophy for the ISU tennis team throughout the entire month of February, as all three of its matches are on the road.

Iowa State finishes the month with matches against conference rivals Texas A&M and Texas.

Wisconsin suffered three losses in the USTA/ITA Women’s National Team Indoor Championships this past weekend, dropping matches to No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 7 Vanderbilt and No. 9 Miami.

ISU coach Michele Conlon took that into perspective as she prepares the team for their upcoming match.

“We know some of those teams were very strong,” Conlon said. “We’re not looking at their losses, but how tough they are.”

Two weeks ago, the Cyclones dropped a match to Baylor 6-1, but learned something from the matches, which were a lot closer than the final score indicates.

“We played tough last time out,” Conlon said. “And we could definitely come away with some good results.”

Strong finishes needs to be a strong point for the Cyclones this weekend, as they were unable to finish strong last time they played the Bears.

“We need to work on being mentally tough enough to close out these close matches,” Conlon said.

“We played well to get there, and they weren’t bad matches by any means.”

Adjustments need to be made to get the team over the hump of finishing matches.

“There are ways to work on [mental toughness], like how you react to every point,” Conlon said.

“You practice momentum, pressing if you’re down in the match and changing up if you’re ahead. You also have to focus on decision-making, but as any coach can tell you, it’s tough to simulate a game without being in the actual situation.

“That’s why the road trip will be nice for us.”

Sophomore Caitlin Loprinzi will miss Friday’s match with an undisclosed injury.

Despite her abscence on the court, Conlon said she’s still having a positive effect on the team.

“Caitlin [Loprinzi’s] in a great mood,” Conlon said.

“She’s in a great mood, she’s responding to the treatment well and she’s actually a great coach on the sideline, too.”

Road fatigue shouldn’t be an issue for the Cyclones, at least for Conlon, who said she’s looking forward to the time on the road.

“I like the beginning of the year,” Conlon said. “We’ll be bonding on the road with all the travel and not running from class so there is no distraction there. It’s a short trip to Madison and that’s a good way to start the year.”

First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.