Regardless of the sport, every team encounters a crossroad at some point during a season. It is the time when elite clubs switch gears and rise to the occasion, while pretenders plummet to mediocrity.

For the Michigan men's tennis team (1-3 Big Ten, 9-5 overall), this afternoon's match against No. 7 Notre Dame (16-4) at the Varsity Tennis Center is the perfect opportunity to turn up the gas.

"We need a win like this to help us get into the NCAA Tournament," coach Mark Mees said. "We also need to build as we head back into the Big Ten season. We still have a couple teams to face in the conference who can play."

In each of the past two seasons, a midseason nonconference victory has jump-started the Wolverines and propelled them into the NCAA Tournament. After a 5-2 triumph over Notre Dame two years ago, Michigan won six of its next seven matches to close out the year and advance to the postseason.

"Beating Notre Dame was the turning point of my freshman season," junior Chris Shaya said. "This season reminds me a lot of that year. We are an older team and struggling in the early going, but we have the opportunity to pick it up again with Notre Dame."

Last season, a 7-0 drubbing of Bowling Green began a final stretch in which Michigan took seven of 10 matches to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

With nine contests remaining, Michigan must finish strongly if it wants to crack the NCAA field for the fifth consecutive season.

"Now is the time when we can pick it up or throw in the towel for the rest of the season," Shaya said. "But I think this team is too old and too competitive to give up."

An integral part of being a competitive tennis player is having the ability to sustain confidence throughout an entire match.

"In any match, it's very easy to go through times when things aren't going your way," Mees said. "But you still have to play with the belief that you can win from beginning to end."

That confidence was certainly lacking this past Saturday at Indiana State, where Michigan suffered a 7-0 trouncing against the Sycamores.

"We started off poorly and were never able to turn it around," Mees said. "It was the worst match possible."

If the Wolverines are going to turn the tide against the Fighting Irish, they will have to do so without their No. 2 singles player Ben Cox, who is still recovering from mono.

Cox's absence will move everyone up a spot in the lineup and put either freshman Josef Fischer or sophomore Brett Baudinet in the No. 6 position.

Fischer has compiled a 1-1 record in singles this year, while Baudinet is 0-1 after last weekend's 7-6 (5), 6-4 loss at Ball State.