When the Badger men’s tennis team takes to the court Friday night at Nielsen Tennis Stadium against No. 58 Purdue, it will be looking to reverse a month’s worth of lackluster performances.
The Badgers have not won a match since March 16 when they defeated South Florida at home and are currently on a seven-match losing streak. Wisconsin (1-6 Big Ten, 10-9 overall) has been shut out in three of those matches and has not managed to win more than two points in any of the seven.
Despite having relatively easy competition the past few weeks, the Badgers somehow found themselves back in the latest rankings at No. 75.
Wisconsin plays two matches this weekend: Friday at 6 p.m. against the Boilermakers and Sunday at 1 p.m. against No. 56 Indiana. Purdue (3-4, 16-7) has had an up-and-down season, with a 3-6 record against ranked opponents.
After a five-match stretch to begin conference play in which the Boilermakers lost four of five, they rebounded at home last week to record two wins against Big Ten rivals Nebraska and Iowa. Against No. 58 Nebraska last Friday, Purdue posted an impressive 7-0 victory in which it did not lose a set in singles competition. The Boilermakers then followed that up Sunday with a win over the Hawkeyes.
Meanwhile, Indiana enters the weekend on a five-match winning streak. While two of the five wins were against non-conference foes Butler and Division II DePauw, the Hoosiers still posted shutouts in three of the five matches, which included a 6-1 victory over the Cornhuskers. Indiana (7-2, 15-10) has struggled on the road this season, winning just two of seven such matches.
Before coming to Madison, the Hoosiers will play No. 40 Minnesota Friday in Minneapolis, a squad Wisconsin defeated in February.
