April 28, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 59th-ranked Penn State men's tennis team will open Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday on the Indiana University campus. The No. 8 seeded Nittany Lions will face No. 9 seeded Northwestern on Thursday at 9 a.m. The match can be followed via a live stats link on GoPSUSports.com.
Last Time Out: Penn State closed the 2010 regular season with a big 4-3 victory over the No. 57 Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday afternoon in Evanston. With the victory, Penn State picked up its 15th victory of the season, beating its win total from last season (14). The match was clinched on court No. 1, where junior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) picked up a huge three-set victory over No. 91 Graves, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Scouting Northwestern: The Wildcats enter the Big Ten Tournament ranked 63rd and hold a record of 9-14 with a 1-9 mark in conference play. Joshua Graves leads the way for Northwestern as he is ranked 97th and carries a 10-12 record in dual matches, all of the action in the No. 1 spot. Sidarth Balaji leads the Wildcats with 12 wins in singles action.
All-Time vs. the Wildcats: Penn State holds a 5-16 all-time record vs. Northwestern. This past Sunday, the Lions cranked out a 4-3 victory over the Wildcats. The last time Northwestern defeated Penn State was on April 19, 2009, as the Wildcats stole one from the Nittany Lions in a 5-2 victory for Northwestern.
Penn State's Big Ten Tournament History: Last year at the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions tied for fifth. Penn State earned a first round victory over Purdue, followed by a quarterfinals loss to a highly talented Illinois squad. Penn State's best finish at the tournament came in 2006, when the Nittany Lions finished third.
Bourchier Named Big Ten Co-Athlete of the Week: Eddie Bourchier was named Big Ten Co-Athlete of the Week along with Ohio State's Justin Kronauge this week, the conference office announced Tuesday. Bourchier, who is currently ranked 93rd in the latest ITA singles rankings, earned a singles victory over a ranked opponent last week and teamed up with senior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) and earned two victories over ranked doubles opponents. Bourchier and St-Maurice are currently ranked 53rd in the latest ITA Doubles rankings.
What's Next: If the Nittany Lions were to defeat the Wildcats, Penn State will then face the No. 1 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday at 8 a.m. The Big Ten Tournament concludes on Sunday.