No. 41 IU (15-9, 4-4) will play Purdue (4-16, 0-8) at ?2 p.m. today.
After their last Big Ten road trip, the Hoosiers return to Bloomington where they will remain until the Big Ten Tournament.
“We finish the next three matches of the regular season at home,” IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman said. “It will be nice to have the support of our fans and people coming out to the matches, which will be always nice to play in front of a home crowd. We will be comfortable, we won’t have to travel and we will be comfortable with where we play and going outdoors.”
In his first year as head coach, Wurtzman is new to this heated rivalry.
“It’s one of the biggest rivalries in college sports,” Wurtzman said. “And in my short time I’ve been here I’ve realized how much that means to both IU and Purdue, so that’s one of our goals every year, being successful against Purdue.”
Purdue has struggled this season. The Boilermakers have lost 10 consecutive matches including a 4-0 loss to No. 11 Ohio State on Sunday. To add to its struggles, Purdue is also 0-8 on the road this season.
“They are going to come and play very hard,” Wurtzman said. “We haven’t seen them yet this year. They’re talented throughout the lineup. They definitely have guys that can compete hard and play well. I think it’s going to be a very competitive match.”
Though Purdue has had a subpar season up to this point, the Hoosiers will still be motivated to beat their nemesis.
“I think we’re going to use it as motivation that we’re playing Purdue,” Wurtzman said. “I don’t see it being a trap because I feel like that match is always going to be big whether they’re top 10 country or where they are now. We know how big this match is.”
At this critical point in the season, Wurtzman said he has specific expectations of his team.
“I’d like to see us handle the pressure well and to go out there and have a great energy and competitiveness in doubles and throughout the singles and not worry about the result and really concentrate on competing as a team and playing hard,” ?Wurtzman said.
