UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 34 Penn State men's tennis (16-7, B1G 6-3) will finish out the regular season with two home matches against No. 49 Indiana (13-9, B1G 6-3) on Friday, April 19 at 5 p.m. and Purdue (9-11, B1G 3-6) on Sunday, April 21 at noon.
The Nittany Lions currently sit in fourth place in Big Ten standings, with the Hoosiers in fifth and the Boilermakers in tenth.
"Well, it's finally here, our last home stand and the last home matches in the Big Ten for our seniors," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "We want to send them out properly but we are playing two extremely talented teams. Indiana just moved into the rankings this week and they are playing for high seeds in both the Big Ten and the NCAA tournament. In the past three weeks, Purdue might be the most improved team in the conference and they will give us a battle on Sunday. We can't wait for this weekend and the challenges ahead for us moving forward."
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LAST TIME OUT
Penn State closed out their four-match road stretch this past weekend, splitting contests against then-No. 14 Illinois and Northwestern.
The Nittany Lions started off their weekend with a close loss to the Fighting Illini, 3-4. Although the team won the doubles point and led 3-1 midway through singles, they couldn't pull out the 'W'.
The Blue and White ended their road schedule on a high note with a win over the Wildcats, 4-2. The squad won the doubles point before going on to claim three singles matches with one going unfinished.
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS
Indiana comes to Happy Valley on a three-match win streak, including victories over Nebraska and then-No. 46 Iowa.
The Hoosiers' roster features one ranked singles player in No. 68 Antonio Cembellin. He owns a 13-4 record at the No. 1 singles spot in the lineup as well as a 6-2 conference record and a 2-2 record against ranked foes.
The team's lineup also features a ranked doubles pair in No. 51 Carson Haskins/Brandon Lam. The duo is 5-4 at the No. 1 doubles spot as well as 3-0 over ranked opponents.
Penn State is 8-20 all-time against Indiana. The teams last met in the 2018 season when the then-No. 46 Hoosiers swept the Nittany Lions, 4-0.
LOOKING INTO THE BOILERMAKERS
Purdue will enter the match riding a two-match win streak, including victories against the then-No. 46 Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers.
Athell Bennett is one of the Boilermakers' top performers with a 21-3 overall record this spring.
Penn State is 17-16 all-time against Purdue. The teams most recently met last season in the Big Ten tournament when the Nittany Lions swept the Boilermakers, 4-0.
HONORING OUR SENIORS
During Sunday's match against Purdue, Penn State will honor their four senior teammates in Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France), Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.), Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.). Zach Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Henry Gordon (New Braunfels, Texas).
The ceremonies will start after the match, at approximately 4 p.m.
CONSTANT SUCCESS
De La Bassetiere set a new Penn State men's tennis best after receiving his fourth Big Ten Athlete of the week award.
The praise follows two singles wins this past weekend at then-No. 14 Illinois and Northwestern, including a victory over the Illini's then-No. 6 Aleks Kovacevic. De La Bassetiere handed Kovacevic his first loss of the season, as he was 14-0 heading into the match. The win also marks the highest ranked opponent De La Bassetiere has earned a victory against in his career.
De La Bassetiere also defeated Dominik Stary of Northwestern, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
The senior captain is now 17-3 at the No. 1 singles position and has won his last three matches. He is also 9-1 over ranked opponents and has defeated the last seven he has faced. De La Bassetiere is 7-2 in the Big Ten and 9-1 in his last 10 contests.
NEXT UP
The Blue and White travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to compete in the Big Ten Tournament from Wednesday, April 24 to Sunday, April 28.
Keep up with the Penn State men's tennis team at GoPSUsports.com. For continued updates throughout the year, make sure to `like' our Facebook page at Penn State Men's Tennis and follow our twitter @pennstateMTEN.