The three-day event begins with 36 holes of stroke play on Saturday, dividing the eight-team field into the championship and consolation brackets for match play. Any ties will be broken by the teams' fifth player's 36-hole total score, and if still tied they will go to the fifth player's second-round score, followed by the first-round score. The teams will then play a best-of-five, 18-hole semifinal match play on Saturday, scoring one point for each individual win in the pairing and playing extra holes as necessary. This is the Boilermakers' first match-play event since 2007, when the Boilermakers finished ninth at the Hooters Match Play Championship in Kissimmee, Fla.
"I'm a fan of match play and I'm anxious to get our team back out there competing this weekend," said Purdue head coach Devon Brouse. "Playing in these high-level, competitive events will build us towards a better performance at Big Ten Championships and the NCAA events. It's all about working to those goals."
The eight-team field consists of fellow Big Ten Conference members Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin and the host Wolverines, in addition to Miami, SMU and UC Davis. Ohio State, Miami, UC Davis and Wisconsin all earned preseason top-50 rankings from GolfWeek, led by the Buckeyes' No. 16 mark. Miami sits at No. 35, while UC Davis and Wisconsin are 41st and 43rd, respectively. Defending Big Ten Champion Jessica Porvasnik of Ohio State highlights the individual field, owning the No. 37 ranking, while SMU's Jenny Haglund sits at No. 47.
The Boilermakers are coming off a quick turnaround as they wrapped up play at the Minnesota Invitational on Tuesday and play their first practice round in Ann Arbor tomorrow (Friday). Leading Purdue to a sixth-place team finish, junior Anna Appert Lund is coming off her best tournament as a Boilermaker, posting an opening-round 71 en route to an eighth-place individual showing. Joining her will be senior Aurora Kan, sophomore August Kim and freshmen Marta Martin and Linn Andersson. Kan finished in the top-20 last weekend, powered by a second-round 71, while Andersson will make her collegiate debut on Saturday.
Live results will be available throughout the tournament at GolfStat.com.