The Eastern men’s tennis team has lost two games in a row and will try to end that streak at Nebraska.

The Panthers dropped their second match of the season against Ball State last Sunday where coach Eric Stark said he was “extremely proud of his team” after the loss 5-2 in Muncie, Ind.

He said the team showed much better energy compared to their first matchup. That is what the Panthers will need even more against Nebraska.

The optimistic coach said this week the team would be focusing on playing decisive on big points in both singles and doubles matches.

Against Ball State, junior Rui Silva and freshman Grant Reiman were close in their respective No. 5 and No. 6 matches before dropping their tight three-set affairs.

Though Eastern is 0-2, Stark said it’s a long season and these are the growing pains the Panthers need.

“We look for continued improvement with each match. I feel good with where we are at two matches in. We are definitely headed in the right direction,” Stark said.

Nebraska will play Drake 6 p.m. Friday and then will rest up as much as it can for the 8 a.m. matchup against Eastern on Saturday.

“Nebraska is a very solid team. While they aren’t ranked right now, I would say they have a good chance to be a top-50 caliber team by the end of the year,” Stark said.

The Cornhuskers come in with a 0-1 record with there one and only matchup against Oklahoma State, who was ranked No. 25 in the country at the time.

The Panthers have shown at times that they can play with tough opponents but can not seem to win the matches they need to win.

Eastern only has one victory in doubles matches against its two opponents this season and will look to make adjustments against a team who has higher expectations.

“I’m looking for a complete team effort and team energy this weekend. We have shown glimpses but still haven’t put a total match together all the way from doubles to singles,” Stark said.

The Panthers will try to give a complete game in both singles and doubles, which Stark says has not been done yet this season.

“We want to peak in March and April, so these tough challenges now will prepare us for the conference grind,” he said.

Eastern will look to take another positive step going forward when they take on the Cornhuskers at DU’s Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

Cody Delmendo can be reached at cddelmendo@eiu.edu.