WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team (2-4, 0-1 B1G) looks to bounce back and pick up its third win of the season in a non-conference dual at DePaul (5-2, 2-0 Big East) Friday. First serves from the Lakeshore Sport & Fitness are scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET.
The No. 51 (tie) Boilermakers are coming off of a 6-1 loss to fifth-ranked Illinois in the B1G opener for both squads on Feb. 7. Diego Acosta provided the point for the Old Gold & Black while playing at the No. 2 singles position. The senior used a 6-3, 7-5 match to take down No. 62 Aron Hiltzik for his first win over a nationally ranked opponent this season. The win over the No. 62 singles player stands as the highest ranked opponent he has defeated in his career. He twice beat the No. 109 player, once as a freshman and then again as a sophomore. The win lifted Acosta to 3-1 in his final campaign.
Acosta is joined by junior Arthur Dobradin with winning singles records. Dobradin, who has seen action at Nos. 4-6, is 3-2. In doubles, Acosta, teamed with sophomore Ricky Medinilla, lead the way with a 3-2 record as the No. 1 duo.
DePaul enters Friday's contest on a two-match losing skid. Playing on consecutive days, the Blue Demons dropped a 6-1 dual at No. 53 Tulane and a 4-3 decision to Georgia State on Feb. 6 and 7, respectively, in New Orleans. Despite a pair of dual losses, freshman Alex Galoustian won both of his singles matches and improved to 7-0. He is 1-0 at No. 4 singles and 6-0 in the No. 5 spot.
It is the fourth-straight season the Boilermakers are facing DePaul and the 15th meeting all-time dating back to 1965. Purdue owns the series 10-4 and has won the last two meetings, both of which were on the Basham Courts. This will be only the third time the Blue Demons have hosted the matchup, to which the series is even at 1-1 when played in Chicago.