INDIANAPOLIS – Following a challenging opening weekend that featured matches against SIU-Edwardsville, No. 7 Kentucky, and No. 53 Michigan State, the IUPUI men’s tennis team hits the road for a pair of matches this weekend at Marquette and Ball State.

The Jaguars first take on the Golden Eagles on Friday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. ET in Milwaukee, Wis., before coming back to Muncie, Ind., to meet in-state rival Ball State on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m.

“This weekend gives us a great opportunity to show where we currently are as a team. We play against both Marquette and Ball State, and both of these teams are extremely talented – and in previous years we have never beat them,” said head coach Brandon Currie. 

The Jags downed SIU-Edwardsville, 5-2, to kick off their season last Friday, before falling to No. 7 Kentucky and No. 53 Michigan State by identical 7-0 scores.

Marquette opened their 2012 campaign last weekend with a 7-0 loss to No. 25 Minnesota in Minneapolis, and Friday’s match will be its home opener.

“Marquette is in the Big East conference and offers a tough challenge as we travel to my hometown of Milwaukee to compete against them,” Currie added. “Last year we lost 5-2, which was the most competitive match we’ve played against them.” 

The Cardinals started their season with a pair of losses to Illinois and Northwestern, and their meeting with Jaguars will be their second match of the day as they face Valparaiso at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

“We then travel back to compete against Ball State, which brings back the same team as last year.  We have never played Ball State close, but hopefully this year will be a different story.  We look forward to the opportunity and welcome the challenge,” Currie said.