Trying to keep its 15-match winning streak alive at the Nordstrom Tennis Center since 2006, the Washington men’s tennis team (2-2) will host a duo of matches this weekend against UC Santa Barbara (0-1) and Ball State (3-3).

The Huskies are coming off a difficult road trip in Texas, where they experienced their first taste of defeat this season to top-ranked teams Texas A&M and Baylor.

“We expected them to be difficult matches,” Washington coach Matt Anger said. “Being on the road isn’t easy, [but] we just have to get better.”

However, starting today at 5 p.m., the Huskies will have the home court advantage again as they take on UCSB. Washington will also have more experience on its side than the Gauchos since UCSB has played only one match so far this season, losing 4-3 to the University of Hawaii. The Dawgs also lead the all-time series against the Gauchos ,13-6.

Sunday at noon the Huskies will face the second of their weekend opponents, the Ball State Cardinals. Both teams have even records after being defeated by higher-ranked teams but have also had perfect 7-0 sweeps. In their only previous meeting, Washington was victorious.

Going into this weekend’s home matches, team goals remain the same as at the beginning of the season.

“We’re putting extra emphasis on doubles,” Anger said. “That’s something we’ve clearly needed to work on in three of the last four matches. We just need to work it out and get a win.”

During the past few matches, doubles play has been anchored by the number one team of junior Patrik Fischer and sophomore Derek Drabble, followed by the number two team of senior Andy Kuharszky and freshman Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.

The top singles spots have consistently been tightly contested between Fischer, Kuharszky and Nedunchezhiyan, though junior Ryo Sekiguchi has been leading the team in wins with a record 3-1 at the number five singles spot.

These matches will be the last two for the Huskies before hosting the 2008 ITA national men’s team indoor championships in just one week.

[Reach reporter Sheena Nguyen at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]