The Eastern men’s tennis team will spend play a double-header Saturday against Valparaiso and Michigan State.

The squad will travel to Valparaiso, Ind. for a 2 p.m. match-up against the Crusaders. Following the match, the Panthers will drive two hours east to Fort Wayne, Ind., at a neutral site to take on Big Ten powerhouse Michigan State at 7 p.m.

Valparaiso comes in undefeated at 3-0 on the season with victories over Toledo, Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne and Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. The Horizon League ranked the Crusaders third in conference in the preseason poll released back on Jan. 15.

Michigan State comes in ranked No. 60 in the nation at 4-3 on the season but have started to come together as a team with three straight victories, in which they haven’t allowed a point to their opponents.

The Spartans defeated Detroit and Toledo 7-0 and Elon 4-0. Eastern has never beat Michigan State with a 0-2 record against them, which includes a 7-0 loss last season on Feb. 1.

“We have played a lot of close matches this year. We will just keep pushing to get over the hump,” Eastern men’s tennis coach Eric Stark said.

The Crusaders and Spartans so far have winning records in doubles matches, which does not bode well for the Panthers, who are currently 1-11 in doubles matches after four games.

Junior Robert Skolik and freshman Preston Touliatos have the lone win for Eastern in doubles matches from their loss against Ball State on Jan. 25.

“Doubles has not quite been where we are looking for it to be but we have a lot of time still to correct the issues, and I still believe come conference we will be the best doubles team in the Ohio Valley Conference,” Stark said.

The Spartans also have two matches on Saturday with Eastern ending the day. Michigan State takes on Ball State, an opponent the Panthers have already played this season.

Despite the tough start to the season, Stark continues to remain positive with the team.

“I think there is a lot of confidence that should be taken away knowing we are capable of fighting back from any adversity,” Stark said. “Valpo and Michigan State are both very strong teams. A lot of people just see our record and don’t realize we have actually played some pretty good tennis.”

The Panthers are hopeful the four-game losing streak comes to an end this weekend.

Cody Delmendo can be reached at 581-2812 or cddelmendo@eiu.edu.