After concluding the regular season with a near .500 record, Northwestern looks to keep its season alive by running the gauntlet this weekend at the Big Ten championship in Minneapolis.

The Wildcats are the No. 7 seed and will face Michigan State, the No. 10 seed, in the opening round today.

Despite last Saturday’s loss to Ohio State, the Cats are using their disappointment as motivation for this weekend’s matches.

“Matt (Christian) and Adam (Schaechterle) had two match points against the No. 1 team in the country,” coach Paul Torricelli said. “Despite the fact they weren’t able to convert, they are still playing very well.”

The play of Christian and Schaechterle could determine whether they can get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. In recent matches, the Cats’ duo has taken down the No. 3 team in the country and lost in a very close match to Ohio State’s top-ranked team.

The success of the Cats also hinges on the health of No. 1 singles player Christian Tempke, who injured his serving shoulder last week.

Although he played through the pain and remained competitive, his skills were obviously affected, and he lost a match he thought shouldn’t have.

“I think (Tempke) will play,” Torricelli said. “I’d say he is at about 75 percent of his ability.”

In addition to Tempke’s injury, the whole team is banged up and the signs of fatigue are starting to show.

“Everyone’s always hurting a little bit at the end of the year,” Tempke said. “I’m sure the other team’s are also.”

The team looks poised to get to the quarterfinals by drawing Michigan State in the first round, but after that the competition will be fierce.

“When you get to the tournament, there is clearly a pecking order,” Torricelli said. “You have your top-two teams, Ohio State and Illinois, and there is a big pack with each team in the pack looking to beat somebody they have lost to earlier in the season.”

If NU wins today, they will get a rematch against Illinois, who defeated the Cats two weekends ago. The players said they were excited to face the Illini again, and after playing them close before, they are looking to get the win this time.

“I think (Adam and I) will play well in doubles,” Christian said, “but it will come down to how well we play in singles against them.”

Beating the Illini will not be easy, as they have won seven straight matches to close their season.

Even as the team stares down its fate, morale is high and the team remains optimistic.

“I think our team is able to upset some good teams and hope that we can show some great tennis next weekend.” Tempke said. “A semifinal appearance would be great and a strong finish to end the season. We worked hard during the year and definitely deserve it.”

Reach Brian Regan at [email protected].