KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's tennis team heads on the road for a pair of matches against Big Ten opponents on Saturday and Sunday. 

The Broncos (3-1) head to Northern Illinois on Saturday for a neutral site match against Minnesota at 10 a.m. ET. The Golden Gophers are 2-0 on the season with a 5-2 win over Iowa State and a 6-1 win over North Dakota to open the season last Friday. 

WMU then heads to Michigan State to take on the Spartans on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Sunday is the first dual match for the Spartans after they had to cancel a trip to Texas A&M last weekend due to inclement weather. 

LAST WEEK
The Broncos picked up wins against Illinois State and Grand Valley State in a double-header last Friday. WMU opened the day with a 4-3 win over ISU and then beat GVSU 6-1 in the second match. 

The match against the RedBirds came down to the wire, with senior Audrey Smitek scoring the fourth and decisive point after a 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-4 win over Nicole Iosio at No. 3 singles. Smitek also clinched the win against the Lakers with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win over Vale Mozas, also at No. 3. The contest with GVSU was a tight one, with three of the six singles matches being decided in three sets. 

ON THE COURT AND IN THE CLASSROOM
For her performance in the wins over Illinois State and Grand Valley State, senior Audrey Smitek was named the Mid-American Conference Female Scholar Athlete of the Week. Smitek, who has as 3.89 GPA in accountancy, went 4-0 total in the two matches with a pair of singles and doubles wins. 

ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan is back on the road next Saturday and Sunday. The Broncos take on Cincinnati on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and then are at Dayton on Sunday at 10 a.m.