2015 SCHEDULE
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Coming off of its first trip to the NCAA Championships since 2002 last season, the Purdue men's tennis will look to make another push to the tournament when the Boilermakers open their 2015 spring schedule in mid-January. The 23 dual match schedule features up to 11 teams that qualified for the 2014 NCAA Championships and over a dozen opponents that appeared in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) team ranking. Nine home dual matches are on the docket at the Basham Courts of the Schwartz Tennis Center.
"We are coming off one of the best seasons in program history," Purdue head men's tennis coach Pawel Gajdzik said. "To build off that momentum and reach our goal of being one of the best teams in the nation, we have put together a very challenging schedule for our team this year. Our early season matches against teams from the Pac-12, Big 12, SEC and Big East will prepare us for our B1G conference competition."
Opponents that played in the NCAA Championships last season include Auburn, Baylor, Illinois, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Tulsa. Competition closed out the 2014 season nationally ranked include Auburn (44), Baylor (6), Illinois (11), Indiana (64), LSU (46), Michigan (39), Michigan State (62), Minnesota (54), Northwestern (33), Ohio State (5), Penn State (24) and Tulsa (36). Purdue finished at No. 42 in the final ITA ranking.
The Boilermakers welcome IUPUI and Eastern Illinois to the Basham Courts in their season opener on Jan. 19. They then travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take part in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend hosted by Ohio State Jan. 24-25. The site, one of 15 four-team sites across the country, also features Auburn and Tulsa.
The top-seeded Buckeyes will take on the fourth-seeded Auburn, followed by the third-seeded Boilermakers against the second-seeded Golden Hurricane Saturday. Winners of the two matches face off Sunday for a berth to the 2015 ITA National Team Indoor Championships. This is liable to be an early test for the Old Gold & Black as each of the three other teams qualified to the NCAA Championships and finished with a top-44 ranking or higher.
Purdue stays on the road the following weekend for a battle against LSU in Baton Rouge, La., on Jan. 31, before coming home for an early B1G contest against Illinois on Feb. 7. Non-conference play resumes with matches at DePaul (2/13) and Baylor (2/20) before returning to Basham Courts to take on Morehead State and Dayton in a doubleheader on Feb. 28.
Another early B1G showdown is set for March 8 as the Boilermakers trek to Evanston, Ill., to face Northwestern. They will spend spring break in Indian Wells, Calif., competing in the Oracle Challenge, hosted by the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The nine team tournament features Baylor, BYU, Cal (16), Columbia (17), Purdue, reigning NCAA runner-up Oklahoma (2), Tulsa, UC Irvine and defending national champion USC (1).
The conference slate takes over from there. Purdue will host Iowa (4/3), Nebraska (4/5), Michigan State (4/17) and Michigan (4/19). Road contests send the Boilermakers to Minnesota (3/27), Wisconsin (3/29), Penn State (4/10), Ohio State (4/12) and Indiana (4/15).
Purdue's postseason run will begin at the BIG Tournament hosted by Illinois April 23-26. The 2015 NCAA Championships, hosted by Baylor, will be played at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas, May 14-25.