Because Illinois is expected to receive several inches of snow in the next two days, the Eastern men’s tennis team might find itself at home this weekend instead of in Milwaukee.

The Panthers are scheduled to play against Marquette on Friday and against Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday in Milwaukee.

The team will wait for word from university officials and the outlook of road conditions before a decision will be made concerning this weekend’s matches.

“We really want to play this match, and we’ll do everything we can to make that happen,” said Eastern head coach John Blackburn.

But Blackburn said the safety of the team is of greater concern than traveling to play the two matches.

The players also had weather on their minds with the prospects of traveling to play in Wisconsin in February.

“If there’s one thing I hate about the U.S., it’s the weather,” said junior and South Africa native Vuk Milicevic.

Junior Jordan Nestrud summed up his feelings a little more succinctly.

“It’ll be cold,” he said.

The Panthers will take the momentum gained from their 7-0 sweep of Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne on Saturday to Milwaukee.

Eastern (1-0) will play Marquette at 4 p.m. Friday and will play Wisconsin-Green Bay at 9 a.m. Saturday. Both games will be played at the Helfaer Tennis and Recreation Center, Marquette’s indoor facility.

Marquette (2-2) opened the 2008 season with back-to-back wins against Illinois-Chicago and Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis before losing two in a row. The Golden Eagles lost 6-1 to Louisville on Sunday. Wisconsin-Green Bay (1-0) lost 7-0 at Wisconsin in its season opener Saturday.

Despite recent losses, Marquette could prove to be Eastern’s most talented opposition this season. The teams have not met since Marquette beat Eastern 6-1 on Feb. 4, 2006.

“They’re in the Big East (Conference), which speaks for itself,” Milicevic said.

Blackburn said he wants to improve on a promising start to 2008, but he said he wants to continue similar practices and match strategies.

However, this week Blackburn emphasized doubles play in practice to counter the aggressive play of Marquette.

After being thrown into the fire against the Golden Eagles, Eastern will face the Phoenix, having had the opportunity to adjust to playing on the fast surfaces at the Helfaer Center. Eastern’s players and Blackburn have expressed this scenario is significantly to their advantage as opposed to traveling to Green Bay.

“We’ll get a match under our belt, and get a feel for the courts,” Nestrud said.

However, Wisconsin-Green Bay is also familiar with playing in Milwaukee, and will meet four more opponents there this season after Saturday’s match against Eastern. Blackburn said Wisconsin-Green Bay’s proximity to Marquette adds to the difficulty of its schedule, allowing the Phoenix to play the bigger schools that travel to Milwaukee. Despite what familiarity Eastern and Wisconsin-Green Bay may possess of the Helfaer Center when they play Saturday, they will not harbor any for one another because the two teams have not played in several years.

JC Clark can be reached at 581-7944 or at jrclark2@eiu.edu.