The University of Washington men’s tennis team will play against Penn State and No. 2 Ohio State in a pair of away matches, according to an April 9 announcement. The Huskies, currently holding an 8-13 record, are preparing for these contests before returning home for their final regular season games.
These matches are significant as they represent the penultimate series in the Huskies’ regular season schedule. The outcome could influence team momentum ahead of their last homestand.
The first match is scheduled against Penn State on Friday, April 10 at the Sarni Tennis Center. This will be only the third meeting between the two programs, with Washington having won both previous encounters. Last year, Soham Purohit and Rohan Belday contributed points in a 6-1 victory over Penn State. Their earlier meeting was during the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, where Alex Slovic led Washington to a win clinched by Klaus Jank in a third set tiebreak.
On Sunday, April 12 at Ty Tucker Tennis Center, Washington faces Ohio State for their eighth matchup in school history. The Buckeyes lead the series with six consecutive wins since the 2004-05 season—when current assistant coach Christoph Palmanshofer secured victory for Washington by defeating a top-ranked singles player after helping win doubles as well. In last year’s contest, Cesar Bouchelaghem scored Washington’s lone point with an upset over Alexander Bernard.
Soham Purohit and Brett Pearson have returned to ITA doubles rankings at No. 45 following four straight wins that included beating Michigan State’s ranked duo Rakhmatullayev/Alazmeh. Hyeonseok Seo has also extended his unbeaten streak to four matches after recent performances against Michigan.
Penn State enters unranked with a three-match losing streak but holds a winning overall record this season; Ohio State comes into Sunday’s match ranked second nationally with several players highly placed in singles and doubles rankings.
