NIU’s outgoing men’s tennis coach Chuck Merzbacher hopes the team gives him a going-away present this weekend against Northwestern University.

“Time to send me off with a bang,” said Merzbacher, who told The Northern Star Tuesday that he will leave NIU at the end of the fall season to take over the women’s tennis program at the University of Kansas.

When the Huskies travel to Northwestern, they will be in for a difficult weekend. Last year, NIU lost 9 to 0 to the Wildcats.

“It’s a tall order, but we can beat (Northwestern),” Merzbacher said. “This is the best team we’ve ever had.”

Merzbacher said he hopes his decision to leave NIU for Kansas will not slow the program that he and the players have built in the past four years.

“The first thing I told (the players) was, ‘Don’t let something like (my leaving) be a reason not to improve,'” he said.

Merzbacher said his decision surprised some of his players but the weekend match against Northwestern will not be affected. “We really are business as usual,” he said.

Against Northwestern, Merzbacher said the team is going to continue to concentrate on finding the best doubles teams for the spring.

The coach also said he will continue watching the play of NIU’s No. 2 singles player Dustin Dobrin, who has struggled this fall.

“(Dobrin’s) going to come around,” Merzbacher said. “He works harder than anyone in practice, it’s just a matter of time.”

As for the future of the program, Merzbacher said the process to replace him has already begun.

“What (NIU athletic director) Gerald O’Dell said to me is, ‘We don’t want to miss a beat,'” Merzbacher said. “Our program is in great shape.”