EDWARDSVILLE - SIUE men's tennis team has two dual matches to close out the month of January, both which are just miles off the Cougars' campus.

On Friday, SIUE travels to nearby O'Fallon, Illinois, for a 3:30 p.m. meeting against Saint Louis. On Sunday, SIUE is the home team for dual with visiting Butler at the Edwardsville Y. The match starts at 3 p.m.

"We've enjoyed a great rivalry with Saint Louis over the past several years," said SIUE Head Coach Jason Coomer. "I expect tomorrow's match to be another hard-fought battle between two similar teams. I expect this match to be close throughout the evening. It should come down to who wants it more."

The Cougars, 0-2, are looking to rebound from two losses in Tulsa, Oklahoma, against Abilene Christian and Oral Roberts. SLU enters the match with a 3-0 record with wins over Lindenwood-Belleville, Olivet Nazarene and Eastern Illinois.

"Butler is an extremely talented team, and I know they'll come here ready to play," said Coomer.

The Bulldogs enter the weekend 0-1 after a loss to Ohio State. Butler will come to SIUE after facing Green Bay at home Saturday.

"We purposely scheduled tough matches during our nonconference season this year," Coomer said. "I believe the level of competition we are seeing in January and February will help us when we get into the Ohio Valley Conference season in March and April."