UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s tennis team (13-4) travels to No. 21 Illinois (12-7) and No. 23 Northwestern (10-6) to kickstart conference action. The Nittany Lions will take on the Fighting Illini on Friday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET in the Atkins Tennis Center, before facing off against the Wildcats on Sunday, March 26 at 11:30 pa.m. ET in Evanston, Ill.
FOLLOW ALONG
Illinois Live Stats and Live Stream
Northwestern Live Stats and Stream
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State is coming off a tough 6-1 loss to the then-ranked No. 28 Cornell Big Red. Loren Byers recorded the Nittany Lions lone point of the match in a hard fought 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 comeback on court three.
PREVIEWING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois is 12-7 coming into this weekend matchup against Penn State with a 6-0 home record. The Illini dropped their most recent match, losing 4-1 to No. 1 TCU on the road. They currently boast the No. 33-ranked singles player in the nation in Karlis Ozolins and the No. 115 in Alex Petrov. Illinois also has two ranked doubles pairings highlighting their roster, No. 49 Ozolins/Hunter Heck and No. 56 Mathis Debru/Oliver Okonkwo.
The Nittany Lions are looking for their third win all-time over the Fighting Illini to open Big Ten action.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northwestern holds a 10-6 record theoughout the spring season, including a 5-3 home record. They lost their most recent match in a 4-3 contest to then-ranked No. 21 Middle Tennessee. Wildcat Steven Forman is currently the No. 54 ranked singles player in the nation, while Simen Bratholm and Ivan Yatsuk hold the No. 55 position in the doubles’ rankings.
The Wildcats earned the most recent win between the two programs, edging out the Nittany Lions 4-3. Despite winning the doubles point, Penn State came just shy of completing the clinch. Both Sam Bossem and Charl Morgan earned singles wins against the Wildcats last year.
UP NEXT
Penn State will return to Happy Valley for their B1G home opener against Wisconsin on Friday, March 31 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State men’s tennis team during the season. Follow the team on Twitter @pennstateMTEN, Instagram @pennstatemtennis and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstatemenstennis.
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