This weekend the men’s tennis team will head to Michigan and Ohio to face off against the Detroit Titans (5-12) and Toledo Rockets (18-8, 0-2 MAC).

The Huskies are coming off a 7-0 loss last weekend to conference rival Ball State (13-7, 2-0 MAC). NIU has to learn to forgive and forget in order to bounce back against another conference rival in Toledo if it wants any chance at the MAC championship.

“This will be the most important match of the year for us,” said head coach Patrick Fisher. “For both teams, it’s win or go home.”

Before they face the Rockets, the Huskies are going to have to play against Detroit. The Titans aren’t in the conference and won’t be as important as the Toledo matchup, but it’s still a game to help get the Huskies ready to play.

Detroit is struggling this season in both its singles and doubles play. The Titans are 37-65 in singles with the best record coming from Rafael Orantes with a record of 10-6. For doubles play, the Titans have an overall record of 21-24.

On the other hand, Toledo is having a great season. It has a great lineup from top to bottom with six players with double-digit wins, and its No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams each have 14 wins. Even with their impressive statistics, the Rockets are in the same situation as the Huskies at 0-2 in the conference.

“We got to play like it’s our last match, mentally,” Fisher said. “It’s going to have to be a team effort. If one person plays then we’re going to lose.”

The Huskies have been doing well all season but haven’t been able to execute during their conference play. Fisher needs his team to improve its game if the Huskies want any kind of success.

“We have to get back and get mentally right,” Fisher said. “At this point in time we need more urgency. We can’t have one individual play well and the others not. We all need to play well.”

If the Huskies want to extend their season into the MAC Championships, they are going to have to be able to beat conference opponents like the Rockets this upcoming weekend.