Illini head coach Brad Dancer had one word to describe the atmosphere he expects at Atkins Tennis Center when top-ranked Virginia rolls into town:

“Electric. And it’s up to us to keep it that way.”

The No. 8 men’s tennis team will look to extend its 15-match home win streak against the No. 1 Cavaliers this Friday night in a clash of Division I powerhouses.

Two years ago, the Illini handed then-No. 1 Virginia a 5-2 defeat at Atkins. The memories from that thrilling upset were lasting and have left the team starving for another shot.

“It was pretty crazy,” senior Ruben Gonzales said about its last home matchup with the Cavaliers, “Probably one of the loudest I’ve ever played here at Atkins. Their coach, who is still the coach there now, was complaining about all the noise because we had the band in here and stuff. It definitely gave us an advantage.”

More than a thousand fans showed up for the match, which was one of the largest crowds in Atkins history. A similarly enormous turnout is expected for Friday’s game, though the players are being careful not to get distracted from the task at hand.

“Everyone needs to be real focused,” senior Ryan Rowe said. “I think we need to be relaxed, I think that’s going to be big, not being nervous out there. We’re the underdogs, so we need to play balls out and hopefully we can pull it off.”

Virginia will be quite a test for the Illini in just their second dual match of the spring. If Friday’s final score looks anything like it did after the team’s season-opening 7-0 shutout of Ball State last weekend, Dancer can be sure his team executed the intangibles.

“It’s going to take tremendous spirit and tremendous courage, and a willingness to play aggressive,” Dancer said.

“Our guys have been preparing hard for it, so we’re going to go out and give it every chance we’ve got.”

Besides championship-level tennis, the night will also feature an exhibition match pitting Illini quarterbacks Juice Williams and Phil Haig against offensive lineman Eric Block and linebacker Martez Wilson.

The Cavaliers advanced to the semifinals of last year’s NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked second in the nation.

Virginia has never pulled off a victory at Atkins, though the Cavaliers did manage to upset the Illini 5-2 last year in Charlottesville, Va.

Defending NCAA singles champion and current No. 1 Somdev Devvarman spearheads a dangerous Cavaliers lineup.

Free admission will be offered for the match, which is set to begin at 6 p.m.