The women’s tennis team’s win against Butler has boosted its confidence for an upcoming dual meet against Drake and Southern Illinois this weekend at Rush-Copley in Aurora.

The Huskies play SIU at 1 p.m. Friday and Drake at 1 p.m. Saturday.

With five non-conference meets left, team members see playing tougher teams as a plus. Tanja Sukovic said taking on more talented players and winning against them has made the team mentally ready.

“We’re in better physical shape, and we’re closing out matches,” Sukovic said.

She credited the win against Butler to junior Molly Opel, who said the doubles point she and partner Kris Tiedt won helped secure the match.

“SIU is strong. If we can play how we practice for SIU and Drake, we can beat them,” Opel said.

Tiedt wants to use the matches as a precursor for Mid-American Conference competitors.

“They’re two tough teams, but I think it will be good to see where we stand,” Tiedt said of SIU and Drake.

Team practices are two hours long and consist of conditioning and running.

“We’ve really been putting a lot of time into being good tennis players,” Opel said. “It really shows up when we’re on the court.”