LIVE SCORING
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 32nd-ranked Purdue women's tennis team is set to hit the Basham Tennis Courts at the Schwartz Tennis Center for its first home duals of the season. On Friday, the Boilermakers (2-2, 0-0 B1G) match up against No. 38 Arkansas at 3 p.m. ET and on Sunday they will battle No. 54 Memphis at 12 p.m. Arkansas and Memphis will also square off Saturday at 12 p.m.
The Old Gold & Black are looking to rebound from a narrow 4-3 defeat at then-No. 23 Northwestern on Feb. 15. The dual match, which did not count towards B1G play, was tightly contested from the first to the last serve. After the Wildcats claimed the doubles point, Purdue needed to win consecutive singles matches, but NU clinched the win at No. 3. The Boilermakers took three matches in the third set: No. 2 Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum, No. 5 Lynda Xepoleas and No. 6 Krisztina Kapitany.
Thanks to an 8-6 win over Northwestern's 50th-ranked duo and a win in singles action, Bernard-Feigenbaum was named the B1G Athlete of the Week. The honor is the second of the junior's career and it marked the first time in program history that the Boilermakers have earned the honor in consecutive weeks with Daniela Vidal claiming the award on Feb. 10.
Bernard-Feigenbaum and Vidal, the nation's 24th-ranked pair, own a 7-2 record and are 4-1 in the top spot for the Old Gold & Black. Bernard-Feigenbaum leads the team in singles victories at 6-1. No. 105 Vidal isn't far behind at 5-2, followed by Kapitany (4-2) and Xepoleas (4-1).
At 10-2, the Razorbacks are off to their best start since 2011 and are one of two Southeastern Conference teams to have already recorded double-digit wins on the season. In its last outing on Feb. 15, Arkansas beat Jackson State in three separate dual matches, with each win coming at 4-0. Junior Yuliya Lysa, who won all three of her matches, leads the team in singles wins at 9-1.
Memphis has dropped its last three dual matches, including a 5-2 loss to No. 62 William & Mary on Tuesday, to slip to 6-5 overall. The Tigers, who hail from the American Athletic Conference, received both of their points in singles play thanks to Marta Morga and Kathryn Hughes at Nos. 3 and 5, respectively. Morga cruised to her team-leading seventh victory of the year with a 6-1, 6-2 performance while moving to 7-1. Hughes claimed a first set tiebreaker victory and then blanked her opponent 6-0 for the straight-set win.
Neither Arkansas nor Memphis has a ranked singles player or duo on their rosters.
It's the second-straight season Purdue is clashing with the Razorbacks. Last season in Fayetteville, Ark., the No. 30 Boilermakers rallied in singles play to beat No. 44 Arkansas, 5-2. Friday's match will be the Razorbacks' first trip to West Lafayette. Sunday's matchup against Memphis will be the first ever.
PROMOS
- Join us at Basham Courts at the Schwartz Tennis Center this weekend for FREE pizza, posters, a sign-making station and of course some great tennis!
- Friday is the Glitz Gallery Celebration and all members are invited to attend!
- Sunday is Dorm Day. All Purdue University residence halls are invited to show their spirit as the Boilermakers face off against Memphis. The hall with the most members in attendance will win a special athletics experience.