WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – One of the greatest to take the tennis court for Purdue is returning for his final season in West Lafayette. On Friday, head coach Pawel Gajdzik announced that 2020 ITA Most Improved Senior Athell Bennett will rejoin the program for the 2021-22 campaign. Bennett was afforded an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic by the NCAA.
"Having a player of Athell's caliber back in our program is a real game changer," Gajdzik said. "He was off to one of the best seasons a Boilermaker ever had before the pandemic cut it short in 2020. A player of national caliber, we can't wait for him to play this fall."
One of the most storied players in recent memory, Bennett has a 72-32 career singles record and a 58-20 mark in doubles. In 2020, Bennett went 16-6 at the top of the lineup in the shortened season, climbing all the way up to No. 20 in the ORACLE/ITA Poll, the second-highest mark in program history.
Bennett is a two-time All-Big Ten honoree and ranks 13th in program history in career singles victories.
The Valley Stream, N.Y., native will return to West Lafayette as the Boilermakers welcome an impressive recruiting class with three five-star athletes in Gabriele Brancatelli, Rohan Sachdev and Julen Morgan, as well as Polish international Piotr Galus.
FOLLOW ALONGFor all the latest scores, stats and stories surrounding Purdue Men's Tennis, follow the team on Facebook (/PurdueMensTennis), Twitter (@PurdueMTennis) and Instagram (@PurdueMTennis).