With only two regular-season matches left before the Big Ten Tournament, the Illinois women’s tennis team is faced with the simplest situation in sports.

Win and get in.

Sitting at No. 47 in the ITA rankings, the Illini (12-9, 5-4 Big Ten) will probably need wins against both Indiana and Purdue this weekend to make the NCAA tournament.

“We know where we’re at, we need this,” head coach Michelle Dasso said. “It’s going to be a war. But I feel like that’s how all of the Big Ten matches have been this year.”

Dasso said as of right now, the Illini are on the outside looking in, but only need to move into the No. 43 or 44 spot in the rankings to feel comfortable about their chances.

Illinois will be traveling to Indiana on Saturday but return home to the Atkins Tennis Center to face Purdue on Sunday. The Illini seem to have added a sense of urgency to their play, winning six of their last seven matches after starting the season 6-8.

The Boilermakers (15-3, 7-2) have had a successful season, with their only losses coming against ranked teams. The good news for the Illini is all three of Purdue’s defeats came on the road.

Indiana (17-6, 6-3) has also won six of its past seven matches, including a 5-2 victory over Big Ten-leading Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The make-or-break statistic for the Illini this season has been the doubles point. When taking the initial point of the match, Illinois has an 11-1 record. Conversely, when dropping the first point, the Illini are just 1-8.

“We want to come out fired up even from the warmup,” Dasso said. “But from the very first point, we need to play with a purpose.”

While these matches are not only important in terms of postseason play, Sunday’s match against Purdue will be the last home match for seniors Rachael White and Breanne Smutko.

“Four years went by so fast, but this past year was definitely the fastest,” Smutko said. “I feel like we just started competing, and now we’re on my last home match.”

Smutko has the second-most singles wins on the team with 14, and while White has a disappointing 10-14 record in singles matches, she has earned victories in each of her last three chances.

Despite losing three starters from last year’s team, White believes the team has the potential to outperform the 2012 squad in the tournament.

“We made it last year, but we were out in the first round,” White said. “We’ve had some not so great losses this year but also some good wins. So hopefully we can get in and make a run for it.”

The NCAA tournament will be hosted the Atkins Tennis Center in May, so while the seniors are bracing for their last match as the home team, they’re hoping it won’t be their last time playing on these courts.

Stephen can be reached at [email protected] and @steve_bourbon.