University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Kick Off Homestand Against Indiana, Purdue
4/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
After extending its winning streak to five with two key Big Ten wins last weekend, the 20th-ranked Minnesota men’s tennis team will host No. 27 Indiana and No. 64 Purdue at the Baseline Tennis Center this weekend. UM will host the Hoosiers on Friday at 3 p.m. and the Boilermakers on Sunday at noon.
Last Saturday, the Gophers ventured to Michigan to take on then-No. 53 Michigan State and then-No. 22 Michigan. Minnesota bested MSU 4-3 on Saturday thanks to a doubles sweep and singles wins by Rok Bonin, Tobias Wernet, and Julian Dehn and improved to 4-0 in the Big Ten while reclaiming the Little Brown Jug from Michigan with a 5-2 victory on Sunday. Wernet upset 57th-ranked Jason Jung and Brendan Ruddock, Phillip Arndt, and Dehn tacked on singles wins to add to a doubles competition triumph.
With the successful weekend, Wernet earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors and Dehn extended his team-high singles winning streak to four matches.
Friday’s match between the Gophers and Hoosiers will pit two of the hottest teams in the Big Ten. IU, who is undefeated in five matches in conference play, is riding an eight-match winning streak into the match. The Gophers have come out victorious in their past five matches and have won 12 of their last 13.
UM holds a 38-25 all-time edge against Indiana and recorded a win over the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind. last year. After being swept in the doubles, Bonin, Arndt, and Sebastian Gallego recorded singles wins, allowing Ruddock to finish off the victory in dramatic fashion over IU’s Will Kendall, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5).
Purdue enters the weekend with a 10-9 dual match ledger and a 1-4 record in Big Ten play. Last weekend, the Boilermakers dropped matches to No. 57 Iowa and No. 15 Illinois. UM has a 45-7 all-time record against PU and has captured the previous eight regular-season matchups. Purdue eliminated the Gophers from the 2007 Big Ten Tournament.
Last year when the teams met in West Lafayette, Ind., the Gophers produced a 5-2 win. Gallego, Wernet, Arndt, and Ruddock chipped in singles victories and Minnesota was able to win two of three doubles matches to take the contest’s first point, resulting in a 5-2 final overall score.
After this weekend, the Gophers will finish up their four-match homestand against Penn State and third-ranked Ohio State before heading to Illinois and Iowa to cap regular season play.
Players Mentioned
