The ISU women’s tennis team will make its shortest road trip of the fall season this weekend as it heads to neighboring Des Moines for a three-day tournament hosted by the Drake Bulldogs.

The 2004 Drake Tournament is the first tournament the Cyclones will play in Iowa this fall.

They have spent most of the season on the road, going to tournaments in Minneapolis, Tulsa, Okla., and Evanston, Ill.

This weekend’s tournament also marks the end of the fall season for the tennis team, but that shouldn’t affect the quality of play this weekend, said coach Michele Conlon.

“I think this group plays hard every time they’re going to go out and compete,” Conlon said. “They’re a very, very competitive group.”

The Cyclones’ success has varied this fall, but one factor has remained consistent: The team has a unique ability to keep its head in the game at all times, Conlon said.

“I think that this team is very focused on the court, and I think that that will help them in the long run and help them through the tournament,” Conlon said.

For a team that has been haunted by injuries all season, it appears the upcoming two-month break is needed.

“I think sometimes at the end of the fall if you have a nagging injury, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, you get to rest a little bit,” Conlon said. “If you can make it through the weekend, there’s a rest.”

Though the team is rewarded with a two-month block free of competition, its work is far from over.

In the weeks that separate the fall and spring seasons, Conlon said, the team will focus on individual workouts, which will allow injured players to rest their bodies and give players the opportunity to play as much as they like on their own time.

The Cyclones will be back in action after the semester break, when they compete at the Iowa Invitational on Jan. 21 in Iowa City.