WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.- The Purdue Men's Tennis team will open the fall 2023 slate this weekend as they compete in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Sept. 15-17.
The Boilermakers will compete in a hidden dual-style match. Over the course of the weekend, they will face Auburn, Ole Miss and Alabama in that order. Doubles play will be one set to six games while singles remain a best two out of three full sets.
With the recent addition of seven new players through a stellar recruiting class, head coach Geoff Young has a plethora of young talent to roll out in his second fall season at the helm of the program.
Fans will be able to stream all doubles matches and the main-court singles matchups throughout the weekend. Live stats will also be made available.
BIG TEN/SEC CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
Friday
12 p.m. | Doubles vs. Auburn; 5-minute break followed by singles
Saturday
10 a.m. | Doubles vs. Ole Miss; 5-minute break
10:45 a.m. | Doubles vs. Alabama
11:30 a.m. | Singles vs. Ole Miss
Sunday
10 a.m. | Singles vs. Alabama
2023-24 ROSTER
Mujtaba Ali-Khan: Set for his sophomore campaign, Ali-Khan is coming off a season in which he led the Big Ten in completed conference matches with five.
Alexander Ekstrand: Ready for his collegiate debut, the former five-star recruit comes to Purdue with over 20 wins against former three and four-star opponents.
Marino Jakic: One of two transfers from DePaul, Jakic is coming to Purdue with 2022 Big East Freshman of the Year and Big East Championship Most Outstanding Player awards in his trophy case.
Aleksa Krivokapic: The less experienced of the two Blue Devils, Krivokapic heads into a redshirt year off a breakout debut where he was named the 2023 Big East Freshman of the Year.
Daniel Labrador: In his second season with the Boilers, the former transfer from Clemson has a full season at No. 1 in the Big Ten under his belt. In the spring, Labrador faced a total of nine ranked opponents, three in the Top 10.
Soham Purohit: The Washington native enters his collegiate career as the No. 1 recruit in the Pacific Northwest region. Before Purdue, he was an all-county player with a perfect 3-0 record against five-star recruits.
Stefan Simeunovic: The resident of Canada stands at 6'2 and had a range of success in his early career. He got as high as No. 157 in the ITF Jr rankings and reached a total of eight doubles finals, winning three.
Juan David Velasquez: The former five-star recruit comes to West Lafayette with a perfect 17-0 record against three and four-star recruits. He also finished his senior campaign as the No. 9 ranked player in the state of Florida.
Henrik Villanger: A well-experienced player in ITF Jr events, Henrik holds a total of 20 victories with 15 coming in straight sets.
