After settling for a split in its two matches Saturday and Sunday in Michigan, the IU women's tennis team finds itself in an unfamiliar position. The Hoosiers are .500 in conference play with a 2-2 record. IU has lost two or more regular season conference matches only twice in the 1990s.

The team will be back home for another Big Ten matchup Saturday against Ohio State. Kentucky will be in Bloomington Sunday for a nonconference match. Both are scheduled for 10 a.m. at the IU Varsity Tennis Courts.

Although the Hoosiers (8-6,2-2) failed to avenge their only conference loss of last season, falling to Michigan Saturday, 4-3, the Hoosiers rebounded to pound Michigan State Sunday, 7-0.

IU coach Lin Loring said it is vital for his team to get another conference win against the Buckeyes (7-8,1-3) Saturday.

"It's very important because that is a match we should win," Loring said. "We need to win that match."

He said for IU to beat Ohio State, the Hoosiers will have to use their depth to get the job done.

"Ohio State hasn't done that well this season, but they're good at the top of the lineup," Loring said. "We have to win at the bottom of the lineup."

Loring said this match, and all of the conference matches to come, are important because each win can potentially get the team a higher seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

But he also said no matter what seed the Hoosiers end up with, the team has the confidence and ability to get the job done when everyone is healthy and the lineup is more stable.

"With everyone in the lineup, whether we are a three-seed or an eight-seed, we could be the team no one wants to play," Loring said.

Freshman Kelly Blanch understands the two early conference losses puts a little more pressure on the team. But Blanch said the Hoosiers shouldn't be too concerned with their conference record.

"I guess there's a little bit of pressure, but the main thing is this is like match practice leading up to the actual Big Ten, and we're focusing on that at the moment," Blanch said. "We can go out and lose all these matches, but we can still go out (at the Big Ten Tournament) and play really well and beat those teams.

"There is not one team we cannot beat. The teams we have lost to have been really close, but on any given day we would beat them."

But in matches decided by only one point, the Hoosiers are only 1-5. Loring said his team's inability to win close matches early in the season is not a big concern heading down the stretch.

"We've yet to have what will be our lineup in the Big Ten Tournament," Loring said. "With everyone back, we'll be one or two points tougher. Nobody has clobbered us -- they have been close. If they weren't close, I would be concerned."

The Hoosiers will probably face another close match Sunday when they play No. 24 Kentucky (11-5). The Wildcats are riding a three-game winning streak, including a 5-4 win against No. 15 Notre Dame.