NORMAL, Ill. – A pair of Big Ten Conference foes await the Illinois State men's tennis team, as the Redbirds return home from the East Coast to face off against a pair of ranked opponents in No. 72 Purdue on Thursday and No. 32 Illinois on Friday. First serve against the Boilermakers is set for 3 p.m. in West Lafayette, Ind., while the match against the Illini starts at 12:30 p.m. CT in Champaign.
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
•   The Redbirds (4-5) head into the matches after a trip to the East Coast last weekend, where they split matches against Quinnipiac and Wagner. ISU was also scheduled to compete at St. Joseph's, but the match was cancelled due to the blizzard conditions that ravaged the East Coast and caused travel delays.
•   ISU rallied for a 4-3 win over Wagner last Friday in Staten Island, New York. Wagner took the early lead in the match, winning the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots; however, the Redbirds rallied to secure singles wins on courts three through six to come away with win.
•   At the No. 3 spot, Tin Ostro defeated Tom Lamers in straight sets by a score of 7-6 (7), 6-2, and Jett Leong rallied after dropping the first set to Pablo Rodriguez Gonzalez to win the match in three sets 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 at the No. 4 spot. Caden Scarlett won in straight sets over Vibhu Challagundla by a final of 6-1, 7-6 (5), and at the No. 6 spot Finn Logue picked up a victory over Joshua Zhao by a score of 7-5, 0-6, 6-1.
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS
•   Purdue (3-5) dropped its Big Ten opener on Feb. 15 against Wisconsin by a score of 6-1, the second-straight loss for the Boilers.
•   Sophomore Maj Premzl picked up the sole win at No.5 singles versus Tomas Zlatohlavek of Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener with a pair of 7-6 victories.Â
•   Juan David Velasquez leads the Boilers with five wins this spring, while three Boilermakers own four: Nour Fathalla, Maj Premzl, and Henrik Villanger.
•   Premzl has also been on a roll, winning his last three consecutive singles matches.
SCOUTING THE ILLINI
•   Illinois (6-3) is coming off back-to-back wins over North Carolina and UIC in a split doubleheader last Sunday at the Atkins Tennis Center.Â
•   The Illini have had a pair of wins over ranked opponents so far this spring, with a 4-2 win at No. 23 Kentucky and a 4-1 win over No. 15 Duke at home. Following their match with the Redbirds, the Illini will take on No. 8 ranked Baylor at 5 p.m. Friday night and then No. 6 TCU on Saturday.
•   William Mroz was named the Big Ten Player of the Week following his standout performances against North Carolina and UIC. Mroz went 3-0 in singles and doubles play across the two matches, including a ranked win to clinch the Illini's victory over the Tar Heels.
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