Following a week off, the majority of the Wisconsin women's tennis team will take to the court again this weekend at the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville, Tenn., while a duo of the squad's veterans travel to East Lansing, Mich., for the ITA Midwest Regional tournament.

The team's freshmen contributors as well as Chelsea Nusslock, Kaylan Caiati, Lexi Goldin and transfer student Morgan Tuttle will bask in the Tennessee sun while Caitlin Burke and Nicole Beck visit the Michigan State University campus.

"Not having Burke will be difficult," Nusslock said of playing at Vanderbilt without the team's highest ranked player. "Nicole is [also] a very strong player."

While the fall tennis season emphasizes personal play over team competition, for a group as young as the Badgers, it provides a valuable opportunity to work on unity and prepare for the spring campaign.

"I know that team unity is a big deal," freshman Elizabeth Carpenter said. "I'm hoping this week will be another example of us getting closer."

The Vanderbilt Invitational will allow the squad to participate in a spring-style duals tournament, something that will permit Wisconsin coach Patti Henderson to gain a further feel for how her lineup may play out come January.

"We can hopefully come up with a lineup we can be comfortable with in the spring," Nusslock said.

The majority of the Badger tennis team was last active Oct. 7-9, when they ventured down Interstate 90 for the Wildcat Duals, eventually leaving Evanston with mixed personal results in a tournament plagued by chilly temperatures and strong winds.