WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Riding an eight-match winning streak, the 28th-ranked Purdue women's tennis team is set to take on its B1G slate in a pair of weekend matches. The Boilermakers, who are off to a 3-0 start in conference play, will have a top-30 battle when they take on No. 22 Ohio State Friday, followed by a Sunday match at No. 71 Penn State. Action from the Varsity Indoor Tennis Center ( // video) is scheduled to get underway Friday at 3 p.m. ET, with Sunday's showdown at the Sarni Tennis Center () starting at 11 a.m.
Purdue is coming off of a 4-3 win over then-No. 58 Columbia on a neutral court in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 20. The win lifted the Old Gold & Black's record to 10-2 while taking their seventh match of the season from a ranked opponent. Their streak of eight straight is the best since 2013 when they strung together 10 in a row, which stands as a program best.
Along with the dual match winning streak, multiple streaks are scattered throughout the Boilermakers' doubles and singles lineup. The 55th-ranked duo of Daniela Vidal and Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum have won their last seven with an overall spring record of 12-1 and are 8-1 at No. 1.
Since entering the lineup in the third spot on Feb. 22, the tandem of Krisztina Kapitany and Nicole Robinson has won four straight. Lynda Xepoleas and Natalia Davila are 7-1 in the middle of Purdue's doubles lineup. The Boilermakers are 9-0 when earning the doubles point and have claimed it in their last eight matches.
Vidal and Bernard-Feigenbaum also lead the team in singles victories with 12 each. Just as in doubles, Vidal has won her last seven matches while playing at No. 1. Bernard-Feigenbaum has claimed victory in her last five in the No. 2 spot. Half of Kapitany's wins during her current eight-match winning streak have been in straight sets while playing at Nos. 5 and 6.
Purdue and Ohio State are two of four B1G teams that are unscathed in conference play thus far. The Buckeyes (5-0) are coming off a 3-0 weekend on the road with wins over Rutgers (7-0), then-No. 47 Maryland (6-1) and UMBC (6-0). They have won their last six matches and own a record of 12-4. Ohio State boasts the doubles force of No. 44 Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus at the top of their lineup. The sophomore duo is 6-4 with five wins at No. 1.
The 6-9, 3-2 B1G Nittany Lions have won their last two matches, beating league foes Maryland (4-3) and Rutgers (6-1), on March 21 and 22, respectively. They have defeated two nationally ranked opponents and dropped narrow 4-3 losses to a trio of top-55 squads.
The Boilermakers are looking to avenge last season's 5-2 loss in Columbus to Ohio State and even the all-time series at 24-24. In the last two meetings, Purdue has defeated Penn State and leads the all-time series 21-6.