It would be nice if Senior Weekend for the Penn State women's tennis team was a little easier for the seniors.

As the Nittany Lions (6-11, 1-7 Big Ten) prepare for their final home matches of the year against Northwestern tomorrow and Illinois on Sunday, Penn State's two-member senior class is in for a rough weekend.

One senior, Janelle Perez, injured for much of the spring semester, will sit out her final home appearance.

Rebecca Ho, also playing for the last time at home for Penn State, will be in for a different kind of difficulty.

Playing in the No.1 singles position, Ho will go up against ferocious competition in Northwestern's No. 25 Marine Piriou and Illinois's No. 55 Jennifer McGaffigan.

"I want to play the best players in the country," Ho said. "I just have to go out there and take it one match at a time."

Tomorrow, Sunday and next week's Big Ten tournament will culminate Ho's four-year odyssey at Penn State.

From the thrill of being promoted to the top singles place as a freshman and earning first team All-Big Ten honors and leading her team to the NCAA tournament as a junior, to suffering through injury problems and a losing record this season, Ho has been through it all as a Lion.

Now it's coming to an end.

"I've been thinking about it a lot this week," Ho said. "It's going to be a little sad, playing in my last home match.

"I just have to go out there and play my heart out and if I win great, if not, that's okay too."

Both Illinois and Northwestern will be favored in this weekend's matches. Both teams, especially Northwestern, are deep and talented and have been tested in big matches.

"I stress fitness for our team," Illinois head coach Sujay Lama said. "I think that helps us with our mental toughness as well. I think our whole team is coming together right now, we're peaking at the right time."

For Penn State, the season is beyond peaking. No matter what, play for the Lions will end with the Big Ten tournament. But that does not mean the Lions will roll over and die.

"We're all excited for this match," Ho said. "We've been on the road for so long, its great to be back home. We'll have friends and family there. We're all going to play hard."

In a season filled with more good than bad, a strong showing from Penn State would make up for a lot.

"Getting a win this weekend would be great. Both teams are really good, so it would do a lot for us," Ho said.

Penn State is a young team and everything done this season should be done with an eye towards the future.

But this weekend, when the Lions send off Perez and Ho, two players that gave their all to Penn State tennis, the present should be enjoyed and remembered.