CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 22-ranked Fighting Illini men’s tennis team continues Big Ten action this week with a pair of matchups in Indiana — first in West Lafayette against Purdue (2-11) then in Bloomington against Indiana.
Illinois play Purdue on Friday, at 2 p.m. CT, while Sunday’s contest vs. Indiana is set to begin at 11 a.m. CT.
The Illini look to extend a stretch of recent success over their rivals from the Hoosier State this weekend. Illinois is 105-11-1 all-time against Purdue and has won six consecutive matches with the Boilermakers since a 4-3 setback during the 2016-17 season.
Against Indiana, the Illini have compiled an all-time record of 51-44, and have won 11 straight matches in the series dating back to a 5-2 loss in Bloomington during the 2011-12 season.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION | Purdue (2-11)
Purdue is under new head coach Geoff Young, who was hired in June of 2022. A proven champion and recruiter, Young arrived in West Lafayette with 22 years of head coaching experience, including 15 at the helm at Minnesota. Young has a career record of 289-227 with 16 winning seasons and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Prior to spending the 2022 campaign on staff at UCF, Young took Minnesota men’s tennis to historic and sustained heights during his tenure in the Twin Cities. The Golden Gophers went 209-150 under Young with a 90-62 mark in Big Ten play. Twenty-one Golden Gophers were named First Team All-Big Ten during his 15-year tenure.
The Boilermakers are coming off their second win of the season, a 4-3 victory over Butler, on Sunday. The win snapped an eight-match losing streak following the team’s 5-2 victory over IUPUI on Jan. 28.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION | Indiana (11-6)
Head coach Jeremy Wurtzman is in his ninth season with the Indiana men’s tennis program.
Indiana enters the weekend coming off a 7-0 road win over Purdue on Sunday, and is set to face No. 24 Northwestern Friday night before their matchup with the Illini. Overall, the Hoosiers are an impressive 10-1 at home at the IU Tennis Center this season heading into Friday’s tilt with the Wildcats, with their lone home loss coming against then-No. 23 Louisville (4-0) on Feb. 17.
ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
The Illini moved down one spot in the national rankings, sliding to No. 22 after a 4-0 win over unranked Penn State, and 4-0 loss to No….
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