After winning its opening match of the spring season, the Western Michigan women's tennis team has dropped consecutive frames to Indiana and Illinois, mustering a meager two points in each competition. The No. 54 Broncos will look to end that streak and return to .500 when they venture into the Nielsen Tennis Stadium to take on the No. 34 Badgers this Saturday.

"[T]hey're a good team. We're going to have to work six, seven, eight shots to earn points. It's not like we're going to be able to be sitting pretty after two shots," Wisconsin head coach Patti Henderson said. "With Western Michigan we're going to have to play much, much harder."

And despite a clean sweep of Northern Illinois last weekend, the Badgers are accustomed to the heightened level of play they expect Saturday, having opened their spring season at the University of Virginia with a trio of difficult matches that revealed split results.

"I think it's going to be a tough match because they're actually a really good team. I think it will be fun — it will be a really good, competitive match," sophomore Chelsea Nusslock said. "It will definitely take work, but I'm excited for a good match; a tough, close one."

Meanwhile, the Badgers look to an additional challenge this weekend, as they will have to up their level of play while also coping with a depleted roster. Sophomore Nicole Beck has been out all season thus far with mononucleosis and Morgan Tuttle was confined to the doubles court last weekend as she battles a back ailment.

"I'm playing up, which is nice … but obviously I'd rather have Nicole playing and Morgan playing. Because Nicole is such a good player to the team and she would do really well," Nusslock said. "And Morgan definitely helps because she's a good fighter and she can play well. So we're definitely going to need them for the season."

On a more positive note, team ace Caitlin Burke has managed a perfect singles record to this point in the season and will look to claim her fifth straight victory this weekend. And she, like her teammates and coach, expects a tough challenge.

"[Western Michigan is] a really good team," Burke said. "We're looking to come out as strong as possible."