After being away for five straight matches, the women’s tennis teams will be returning home this weekend with the Chicago State Cougars (3-8) coming into town.

The Huskies are coming off a fantastic 3-0 weekend with victories coming against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, University of Indianapolis, and Butler University. The Huskies will be playing host to the Cougars, who have a 0-4 record away from home. However, NIU head coach Ryun Ferrell isn’t paying any attention to the numbers.

“Chicago State is well coached and we shouldn’t take anything for granted,” Ferrell said. “We train hard to fight easy. Assume they will come at you; assume they will come at you nasty.”

The Huskies have shown that they’re a team who can play away from home and be dominant. The Huskies are 4-0 right now when it comes to away matches, but Ferrell hopes that the success can be brought back home.

“I’ll like to think we’ll be successful at home,” said Ferrell. “There’s a difference with having an away match compared to being back home. Being on the road is a more controlled environment, being home we get to sleep in your own bed and just relax.”

Going into this matchup, NIU will keep its attention on doubles. The overall record for the women’s doubles is 19-8. No. 1 pairing Nelle Youel/Arantza De La Torre has a record of 9-0 in double pair, while the second and third pairings are a combined 10-8 in double matches.

“We are continuing to focus on our doubles and work on that,” said Ferrell. “[So] when it comes we’re ready.”

With the 8-1 record the Huskies have, the team is confident of its play the past couple weekends. The entire team has a winning record when it comes to single play with a team record of 44-10. Ferrell told his players they are just numbers; anyone can come into a match and come out with a win.

“We assume our record is 0-0,” Ferrell said. “Yesterday is a mystery, today is a gift that’s why it’s called the present. The players have to have to be able to be happy about a victory but then get to training for the upcoming opponent.”