Seniors Juan Pablo Barriga, Aaron Forsberg and Ryan Schnack will prepare for the end of their collegiate careers as the NIU men’s tennis team ends its regular season this weekend.

NIU takes on Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne at 3 p.m. today and Toledo at 1 p.m. Saturday, both at Anderson Hall Courts.

The Huskies (14-5 overall, 1-2 MAC) will look to clinch the third seed in the MAC tournament behind Ball State and Western Michigan with at least one victory.

For the seniors, these matches mean more than just an end to a season.

“For me, this will probably be the last time I pick up a racket in a serious manner ever again,” Forsberg said. “It’s real nice to be able to have family and friends come out and have everyone see me in my farewell bid.”

Despite the sentimental value of their final matches, the three seniors don’t take their opponents lightly.

“Like Erick Martinez says, there are no small enemies. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and getting back on a winning streak,” Schnack said.

After the close loss to rival Ball State last weekend, the Huskies look to use IPFW (7-12, 0-3) and Toledo (9-10, 0-3) for momentum heading into the MAC tournament.

“Since we’ve bonded together here, I think the team will be motivated to do their best to win the MAC so we can finally get to the NCAA tournament, because that’s our ultimate goal. If you’re not motivated for that, I don’t think you’ll get motivated,” Schnack said.

IPFW has lost six in a row, and Toledo has dropped three of its last four.

As the regular season closes and the seniors advance to their final MAC tournament, Forsberg sees it as more of a beginning than an ending.

“All good things come to an end,” he said. “And it’s time to move on to the next chapter of my life. Hopefully, we can go out on a good note.”

For Barriga, this year was special for both his individual accomplishments on the court and the relationships off of it.

“I think I will remember this year for the rest of my life,” Barriga said. “I had the best record of my career.”