Ohio State junior Justin Boulais forehands a return during his singles match against Tennessee freshman Shunsuke Mitsui at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center Feb. 5. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Casey Smith | Assistant Lantern TV Sports Producer
No. 2 Ohio State’s quest for a Big Ten title continues this weekend as it travels to Indiana, taking on the Hoosiers Friday before traveling to West Lafayette, Indiana, to face Purdue Sunday.
The Buckeyes (17-2, 2-0 Big Ten) look to extend their current win streak to four, bolstering their record against two teams in the bottom half of the conference. However, Indiana (5-9, 0-1 Big Ten) will be hungry to find itself back in the win column.
Ohio State is riding the momentum of back-to-back conference wins, knocking off No. 55 Illinois and No. 25 Northwestern at home Friday and Sunday, respectively.
The Hoosiers have lost four-straight coming into the match, most recently dropping one to Purdue 0-4 at home. Their last win came March 4 against Illinois State, a 4-0 sweep.
The Boilermakers (8-7, 1-0 Big Ten) find themselves on the positive end, winning five of their last six matches since Feb. 26. Purdue also holds a perfect 6-0 record at home so far this season.
Purdue is led by redshirt senior Athell Bennett, a veteran presence for the squad who’s racked up a 12-9 singles record playing at the top of the Boilermakers’ lineup.
Before the Buckeyes arrive, Purdue has a date with Penn State Friday, a chance to further build its momentum and maintain an undefeated conference record.
Ohio State rose one spot in the rankings, keeping a winning consistency as then-No. 1 TCU fell to No. 4 Baylor.
Both Buckeye matches of the weekend will be streamed on the Ohio State Buckeyes website beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and noon Sunday.
