March 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 42nd-ranked Penn State men's tennis team (9-1, 0-0) will close out its seven-match homestand on Sunday with an 11 a.m. matchup with the No. 65 Purdue Boilermakers. Action will take place at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center and admission is free. The match can be followed via a live stats link on GoPSUSports.com.
Last Time Out: Penn State tallied two victories over the Cornell Big Red and the Lafayette Leopards last weekend. In a 6-1 victory over Cornell, junior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) picked up a big straight-set victory over Jonathan Jacklitsch in the No. 1 bout. Sophomore Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) and freshman Warren Hardie (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) each picked up three-set victories over their Big Red opponents. In a 7-0 win over Lafayette, then Nittany Lions won all six singles matches in straight-sets. Hardie, Lee and senior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) each picked up two singles victories on the weekend.
Scouting Purdue: The Boilermakers head into this weekend's match with a 7-3 record. Purdue is coming off a 4-3 loss to Western Michigan on Feb. 27. The Boilermakers are led by Slavko Bijelica, who is 7-2 in dual match play this spring. Bijelica has split time with P.J. Rose in the No. 1 bout, carrying a 3-2 record when playing in that position.
All-Time vs. the Boilermakers: Penn State carries a 12-12 all-time record vs. Purdue. The Nittany Lions picked up two victories over the Boilermakers last year, with a 4-0 sweep in the Big Ten Tournament and a 4-3 victory in regular season competition. Penn State has won its last seven matches vs. Purdue.
Climbing Up the Rankings: Penn State made its best jump in the Campbell's ITA Rankings this season as it made a leap of 10 spots to No. 42 this week. The ranking is Penn State's highest this year and highest since being No. 38 at the beginning of last season.
What's Next: Following its matchup with Purdue, the Nittany Lions will head down south on March 11 for a dual with Coastal Carolina. Penn State will then travel to Montgomery, Ala. on March 18 for the Blue-Gray Tournament, featuring some of the top teams in the country.