Illinois seniors Pramod Dabir and Ryler DeHeart will look to cap their stellar tennis careers in winning fashion this weekend.

On Sunday, the men will play their last regular season Big Ten matches at the Atkins Tennis Center when the team takes on unranked Iowa (6-11, 1-7 Big Ten) at noon.

“You are almost honored as a coach to have two guys of that quality, not only in terms of tennis ability but also because of the people that they are,” said Illinois head coach Brad Dancer. “You wish that you could keep them for another four years.”

Illinois, the nation’s fifth-ranked team, faces No. 37 Minnesota (12-10, 6-2 Big Ten) on Saturday at the Atkins Tennis Center.

Both matches will provide challenges for the Illini. Minnesota is one of the best teams in the conference, led by D.J. Geatz and Nic Edlefsen.

The Illini will counter with their best lineup including DeHeart, the nation’s eighth-ranked singles player, junior GD Jones and sophomores Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe. All four Illini are rated in the nation’s top 100. Illinois also has four doubles teams ranked within the nation’s top 60.

Illinois will also be able to use the supportive fans to its advantage when it plays at the Atkins Tennis Center over the weekend.

“We have a lot of great memories here and have won a lot of matches at home,” Dabir said.

The Illini have had an impressive home record since the men’s career started. Dabir and DeHeart have lost just two matches at home in their careers – in April 2005 against Kentucky and last month against Stanford.

But the team does not plan to get caught up in the sentiment of the moment.

The Illini still have a job to do and will need to play well to stay in second place in the Big Ten. Minnesota has only two losses and Ohio State is undefeated this season. This is the first time the Illini may not win the conference since 1996.

“Obviously, it’s going to be weird on Sunday,” DeHeart said. “But you can’t think about that because you still have to take care of business.”

Instead, the team is focused on improving its record (18-5, 7-1 Big Ten). As well as improving their record, the Illini need to gain momentum heading into the season-ending championships. Illinois will begin its search for its fifth consecutive Big Ten Championship title when the championships begin April 27th.

“Hopefully we can win both of these matches, before we head into the Big Ten tournament,” Dabir said.

Instead of focusing on the seniors that are leaving, the Illini will focus on the future. The most important part of the season is still ahead.

The NCAA Championships, Dabir and DeHeart’s last chance to bring a NCAA team singles or doubles title back to Champaign, begins May 12th. For many of the underclassmen, the Senior Night celebration signifies the passing of another year and gives the team a chance to mark its progress since last season.

“This year is up and you don’t have a lot of time (in college),” Rowe said. “But you’re excited about how things are going to go at the end.”