Illinois men’s tennis will continue its fight for the Big Ten crown against Michigan and Michigan State this weekend, but another friendly competition will take place between the two head coaches.

Before graduating in 1993, Illinois head coach Brad Dancer donned a green and white uniform under the guidance of Gene Orlando, who has been coaching the Spartans since 1992.

“Gene’s a great guy, so I talk to him all the time,” Dancer said. “He’s been nothing but a mentor and a model to me over the years. We still try to beat him though.”

The Illini stayed on pace in the conference with Saturday’s 6-1 win over Wisconsin, but the unranked Gophers upset them 4-3 on Sunday. After Minnesota put the first blemish on Illinois’ Big Ten record last weekend, the team is trying to refocus.

“Right now, we’re a little disappointed with our first loss,” sophomore Farris Gosea said. “It came as a shock, especially because we were in control most of the match, but we know what we’ve got to do now with the rest of our regular matches.”

Both Dancer and associate head coach Marcos Asse agree it’s difficult to isolate one thing for the team to work on, as each player has their own obstacle to overcome heading into the weekend.

“The biggest thing to me is just a mind-set across the board and a culture,” Asse said. “I think Minnesota is a good example of when we fought like hell in doubles, similar to what we’re known for in singles. … The other team played well in spots, and when they didn’t, we took advantage of it. I think we just have to do that across the board.”

The Illini won two of three to grab the doubles point against Minnesota last weekend, and Dancer said he was impressed with their competitiveness. But more harm than good seemed to be done, statistically. The team holds an 8-10 record on the season while the No. 22 tandem of sophomores Tim Kopinski and Ross Guignon — ranking as of March 26 — dropped its first point in eight matches to Wisconsin.

Michigan (9-7, 4-1 Big Ten) boasts a third-place position in the conference, just behind Illinois, while Michigan State (8-10, 2-3 Big Ten) has struggled thus far in the season, being one of three teams in the Big Ten to have a losing season record.

Though Illinois has prided its season on a match-by-match outlook that doesn’t approach conference play differently, Asse said both teams have proved not to be underestimated. Michigan has had eight matches decided by one point this season, five of which they lost. Meanwhile, Michigan State dominated now-No. 14 Vanderbilt in January and could pose a threat to an Illini team that has just fallen out of the top 25.

“I just think last week was our first real road trip in the Big Ten, and just back-to-back will be a good challenge for these guys,” Dancer said. “They’re a hungry, motivated team, and we’re going to go out and fight hard.”

J.J. can be reached at [email protected] and @Wilsonable07