THIS WEEK IN WOMEN'S TENNIS… Upper Iowa will take its 13-9 overall record and 6-3 conference mark on the road this week as the Peacocks prepare for their final regular-season weekend in NSIC play. UIU is currently on a two-match win streak and the Peacocks have won four of their last five, but only one of those wins came against a conference opponent. Saturday's action against Winona State (7-11, 6-3 NSIC) will begin at 12:30 p.m. The Warriors will then face the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State at 4 p.m. on Saturday. UIU will compete just once on Saturday and once on Sunday as the Peacocks face the Mustangs (3-14, 1-8 NSIC) at 12:30 p.m.

SIZING UP THE COMPETITION… The Warriors of Winona State enter Saturday's matchup with a 7-11 overall record and an identical 6-3 NSIC conference mark. The Warriors have split their past two matchups; most recently falling to St. Cloud State, 5-4. The weekend will also serve as senior day for two Warriors as they honor Brittney Freund and Jessica Urban. Meanwhile, Southwest Minnesota State has struggled this year. The Mustangs hold a 3-14 overall mark and just a 1-8 mark in NSIC duals. At the same time, the Mustangs have lost seven straight, including their last four to conference foes. 

LAST WEEK… The Upper Iowa women's tennis team earned back-to-back wins last weekend as the Peacocks rounded out non-conference play. UIU began the weekend with a 5-4 victory over Ashford University (Iowa) on Saturday afternoon in Waterloo, Iowa. The Peacocks were dominant in doubles competition and took a 2-1 lead into singles play, but the Saints made UIU earn the win. Ashford split singles play evenly, 3-3, but it wasn't enough to steal the victory. Upper Iowa clinched the win as three Peacocks posted perfect 2-0 days. Then on Sunday, the Peacocks hosted Augustana College (Ill.), a team most recently ranked 17th in the latest NCAA Division III Central Region poll. The Vikings sustained injuries during the match, which forced them to forfeit two points to the Peacocks. Nonetheless, Upper Iowa sealed the 6-3 victory thanks to perfect outings from Iris Verweij, Saki Kawabata, Kelly Jachymowski and Victoria Kulbokas. The Peacocks will now look forward to finishing the regular season next weekend as they take on a pair of NSIC foes. UIU will head north to Minnesota next Saturday and Sunday to face Winona State and Southwest Minnesota State. Both matches are set to begin at 12:30 in Winona.

IRIS' STRONG WEEKEND... #Iris Verweij# posted a flawless 4-0 record this past weekend as Upper Iowa defeat Ashford University (Iowa) and Augustana College (Ill.). On Saturday, Verweij was playing at #1 doubles for the first time in two weeks, but that didn't stop her and her teammate, Victoria Kulbokas, from posting an impressive 8-2 victory. UIU's freshman then followed that up with a pair of victories in #1 singles action over Ursula Alvarado, 6-1 and 6-3. On Sunday the Peacocks hosted Augie in Waterloo and Verweij earned another sweep. The Vikings' #1 doubles team had to default the point due to an injury, which pushed Verweij's season record to 12-6 overall in doubles play. As singles competition rolled around, Verweij took care of business once again. She picked up a 6-0 victory in the first set before finishing off her opponent 7-5 in the second.  Verweij's two individual victories over the weekend give her a 15-4 overall record and the second-most victories by a Peacock since the 2010-11 season. 

WITH A WEEKEND SWEEP… With a sweep, the Peacocks will sit in fourth place in the NSIC standings behind Augustana, U-Mary and St. Cloud State with their 8-3 conference record. The Peacocks cannot catch either of the three teams ahead of them in the standings currently as each of those teams has beaten UIU in a head-to-head competition. The best UIU could finish is fourth in the conference.

WITH A SPLIT THIS WEEKEND... If the Peacocks split this weekend, the standings could shift. Currently, the Warriors and Peacocks are tied for the fourth spot in the standings. Whichever team wins that matchup would clinch the fourth seed in the playoffs no matter what happens versus Southwest Minnesota State. The Peacocks will need to beat the Warriors on Saturday to earn the fourth seed in the 2014 NSIC Women's Tennis Championship.

AFTER DROPPING BOTH WEEKEND MATCHES... If the Peacocks happen to lose both matches this weekend, then MSU Moorhead would finish tied with UIU in the conference standings, if the Dragons win their final match of the year at 3-9 Bemidji State. The Peacocks would still hold the fifth spot in the standings though as UIU earned a 5-4 victory over the Dragons in Moorhead, Minnesota back on Feb. 23.