Coming off two hot wins to start Big Ten play, the No. 17 Illinois men’s tennis team is riding up to South Bend, Ind., for its second doubleheader in five days, starting Tuesday against Illinois State, followed by a match against Notre Dame later in the day.

Illinois State will get the first go at the young Illinois team, but both distant and recent history speak poorly of its chances. The Illini have put down the Redbirds in 53 of their 54 meetings, most recently 6-1 in the 2010-11 season.

“Illinois State, they’re fighters,” freshman Jared Hiltzik said.

Sophomore Ross Guignon said the well-coached Redbirds lack the same depth as the Illini and the match could be used as practice, but he would not to take them lightly, as it is still a recorded match.

The Illini anticipate a much closer match against Notre Dame. For the last seven seasons, the winner of the match has changed each year. While the Illini won last year 4-3, the Irish took the win the year before 5-2. If Illinois wants to win, it is going to have to defy the pattern.

“It’ll be a hard-fought battle, no matter what the score ends up being,” Guignon said. “Hopefully, we can get through it pretty easily.”

Stamina is going to have an effect in the Illini’s performance, but Guignon said he isn’t too concerned with how the team will handle itself.

“It’s going to be tough, but this is the stuff we train for,” Guignon said. “We’ve got a tough group of guys, and I think we’ll be OK.”

Showing the same confidence, Hiltzik also said the first week against Toledo and Ball State taught the players lessons on taking care of their bodies and stretching to avoid poor results. Now, they are just looking to implement what they know to claim another two wins.

The first of potential struggles comes in the form of an away crowd. Having played seven back-to-back matches at home, the atmosphere will undoubtedly change for the visiting Illinois squad. “For the guys that were on the team last year, we played well over half of our matches on the road, so I think we’ll be ready for it for the most part,” Guignon said. “And for all of our freshmen, it’ll be a good experience.”

Doubles is still a lingering problem for the Illini despite their turnaround last weekend against Iowa and No. 20 Northwestern. Three out of nine possible points is all they have been able to secure on the season, failing to earn doubles points in all three of their tight 4-3 finishes. And with the doubles starting off the match, winning or losing that point may have an effect on the momentum.

“I think the biggest thing is just starting to establish how they’re going to collectively go out and play,” associate head coach Marcos Asse said. “Each guy knows when they have another player out there on the court playing that he can look at and say, ‘I’m glad he’s representing my team,’ and I think the guys are starting to take ownership of that.”

J.J. can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @TheWilson9287.