WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After four non-conference dual matches, the Purdue men's tennis team will square off against No. 21 Northwestern in B1G action Sunday at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill. First serves between the Boilermakers (4-6, 0-1 B1G) and Wildcats (8-5, 0-1 B1G) are set for 1 p.m. ET.
The Old Gold & Black are looking to continue their recent success after defeating both Morehead State and Dayton, 6-1, in a twinbill on the Basham Courts at the Schwartz Tennis Center on Feb. 28.
Purdue clinched both doubles opportunities as all three duos put up a combined record of 4-1. After playing apart in the two previous dual matches, Diego Acosta and Ricky Medinilla teamed back up and improved to 5-2 with a pair of wins. Their five wins together are a team best. Not only were the Boilermakers solid in doubles, but also in singles as their top-five spots won 7-of-10 matches in straight sets.
Heading into Evanston, Purdue will be without any ranked players or doubles tandems on its roster, but Diego Acosta's production in the top-two spots has been a reliable source for success. The senior has won four of his last five matches, including an impressive 6-3, 7-5 win over Illinois' then-No. 62 Aron Hiltzik on Feb. 7. Acosta carries a record of 6-2 with 3-1 marks at both Nos. 1 and 2. His six victories are also a team high.
Northwestern has also won its last two dual matches, beating then-No. 64 Cornell (Feb. 22) and Middle Tennessee State (Feb. 27) by scores of 4-2 and 6-1, respectively. Prior to Sunday's dual match, the Wildcats will have a top-30 showdown when they travel to No. 27 Indiana Friday.
Like the Boilermakers, Northwestern began its B1G slate with a loss to Illinois. The then-No. 6 Illini handed 26th-ranked NU a 5-2 setback in Urbana, Ill., on Feb. 20.
The Wildcats have two singles players listed in the latest ITA national rankings in Sam Shropshire (93) and Strong Kirchheimer (116). Northwestern has not yet cracked the doubles rankings, but the duo of Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz pushed their winning streak to seven against Middle Tennessee State. Playing at No. 3, the pair boasts an 8-1 record this spring.
Last year the two teams split while meeting during the regular season and again in the quarterfinals of the B1G Tournament. Mateus Silva clinched a 4-3 upset of the 24th-ranked Wildcats on March 7, marking the highest ranked opponent the Boilermakers had defeated since No. 17 Vanderbilt in 2005. Northwestern avenged the loss with a 4-0 sweep in April.
Although NU leads the all-time series 64-21-2, since Purdue head coach Pawel Gajdzik took over in 2010, the series is even at 3-3.