After a monthlong road trip, the ISU women’s tennis team will finally be playing in its own backyard, taking on Texas Tech on Saturday.

The competition will give the squad an opportunity to relax and recuperate, since players will only be playing one opponent, compared to the usual two competitors they take on when on road trips.

“It feels so nice,” sophomore Charlotte Ljungkrantz said. “We’ve been waiting for this.”

“It seems like it’s been forever [since we’ve played at home],” sophomore Eve Soriano said. “We’ll actually have a Sunday to ourselves.”

The team has been working on numerous drills to prepare for a tough Lady Raiders squad that defeated defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma State last weekend.

“We’ve been working on trying to get our strokes grooved,” freshman Jill Palen said. “We’ve been doing lots of basket drills and different rallies down the middle so everyone is hitting the ball really well and solid.”

Ljungkrantz said the team has been doing reflex volleys, drills to practice for doubles matches.

“We’ve also been practicing playing mixed doubles, because the guys hit harder and it helps to get a higher tempo of play,” Ljungkrantz said.

Head coach Michele Conlon said her Cyclones have been doing a great job of working on their individual games on their own time. That consistent work ethic is what it takes to build a successful program, Conlon said.

“This week, the girls have been working on small technical adjustments to their game,” Conlon said. “We want to make sure that they don’t have any bad habits. The girls have done an outstanding job of putting in extra time outside of practice.”

With the Iowa weather changing so often, it is unsure if the meet will be played inside at the Ames Racquet & Fitness Center or on the outside courts by the Forker Building. Conlon said if the temperature is below 55 degrees, the games will be played inside. The players would rather compete outside.

“We would rather play outside,” Soriano said. “The only adjustments to playing outside is if it’s windy. We’re just looking forward to playing a whole match.”

The road matches against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State that were postponed due to the weather earlier this spring have also been rescheduled. The Cyclones will play Oklahoma at 2 p.m. April 24 and Oklahoma State at 10 a.m. April 25.