UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's tennis team (7-7) is gearing up to host No. 20 Northwestern (11-5) on Friday at 4 p.m. ET. They will continue their three-match weekend against No. 52 Illinois (6-9) and Mount St. Mary's (4-6) on Sunday at noon ET.
FOLLOW ALONG
LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions competed in the ASU Spring Break Tournament from March 11 to March 13. Dropping their first match to No. 33 Texas Tech, 4-1, Penn State moved on to the consolation semi-finals to take on Idaho. They earned a dominant 4-1 win over the Vandals to advance to the consolation finals portion of the tournament. No. 62 defeated the Nittany Lions in a hard-fought 5-2 match. Penn State claimed sixth place at the invitational.
INSIDE THE WILDCATS
Northwestern comes into Friday's matchup ranked 20th in the ITA Division 1 National rankings with an 11-5 record. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-2 loss to N.C. State and will be Penn State's first taste of Big Ten action. Northwestern's Steven Forman is currently the 37th-ranked singles player in the nation.
This contest marks the 18th time these two Big Ten programs have faced off. The Wildcats hold an 11-7 record and earned the most recent win in a 6-1 match in 2021.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois enters this weekend coming off a 4-2 road win over the UCF Knights. The Illini have a 6-9 record and are currently the No. 52 ranked team in the country. The team boasts the No. 62 and No. 96 ranked singles players in Olivier Stuart and Hunter Heck, as well as the No. 50 and No. 61 doubles pairings. Illinois will face Big Ten opponent Ohio State on Friday in Columbus, Ohio before traveling to University Park for Sunday's matchup.
In 20 matches all-time, the Fighting Illini have the advantage over the Nittany Lions, including the most recent 5-2 win in 2021 in Champaign, Illinois. This contest will mark Penn State's second conference match of the season.
PREVIEWING THE MOUNT
Mount St. Mary's heads into Sunday with a 3-5 record and a recent 4-0 sweep over Saint Francis in conference play. The Mount will take on the Wagner Seahawks at home on Saturday, before heading up to University Park to face the Nittany Lions.
This will be just the second time the two clubs have faced off in program history. In 2020, the Nittany Lions claimed a 7-0 sweep over Mount St. Mary's. Penn State's Andrei Paduraru clinched the match in a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Evan Hine.
UP NEXT
Penn State will be back on the road to take on the Purdue Boilermakers in a Big Ten matchup on Friday, April 1 at 2 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.