April 5, 2012

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 34 Purdue women's tennis team returns to home conference action this weekend. The Boilermakers will host No. 17 Nebraska on Saturday and No. 72 Iowa on Sunday at the Schwartz Tennis Center.

Purdue (11-3, 3-2 Big Ten) is coming off a weekend split with a pair of Big Ten teams from the state of Michigan. Last Saturday, the Boilermakers battled, but came up short against the Wolverines, falling 5-2. Sunday, the women bounced back and knocked off Michigan State, 6-1. Freshman Daniela Vidal won both of her singles matches at No. 4 to improve to 13-1 on the season. The rookie has won 12 straight matches.

Nebraska (18-2, 4-1) has won three in a row since dropping its only conference loss to Illinois. Those three wins have come against Northwestern, Ohio State, and Penn State. The Wildcats were ranked No. 14 in the country before the Corn Huskers defeated them, 5-2. However, of Nebraska's two losses, one came against Northwestern at the start of the year. The teams faced each other during the ITA Kickoff Classic and the Wildcats won, 4-3. After that loss, the Huskers won 14 straight matches including six in shutout fashion.

Iowa (7-9, 1-4) is coming off a split weekend. The Hawkeyes knocked off Penn State, 4-3, before falling to Ohio State by the same score. However, Iowa has lost four of its last five and six of its last eight matches. The Hawkeyes other three conference losses are to Nebraska, Illinois, and Northwestern. Sonja Molnar leads the Hawkeyes with a team-best 12-4 record. She is ranked the nation's No. 115 singles player.

Nebraska and Purdue will meet for the first time on the tennis courts. The Boilermakers are 20-24 against Iowa all-time.

Purdue and Nebraska will begin their match at noon on Saturday. The Boilermakers and Hawkeyes will begin at noon on Sunday. Live results will be available for both matches at PurdueSports.com. Both matches are scheduled to be played outdoors as temperatures are forecasted to be near 70 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny both days.