Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Welcomes Conference Foes For Big Ten Tournament
4/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 25, 2012
2012 Big Ten Men's Tennis Tournament
Thursday, April 26 - Sunday, April 29
Vandy Christie Tennis Center
Evanston, Ill.
Tournament Central
EVANSTON, Ill. -- All 12 Big Ten squads will be in Evanston this week as the historic league holds its annual conference tournament at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center on the campus of Northwestern University. This is the first time that the Wildcats have been tabbed to host the prestigious event since 2003.
Play begins Thursday morning, April 26, with four exciting matches on the docket. The 8th seed Wisconsin will take on No. 9 Nebraska on the north courts, while No. 5 Indiana squares off against No. 12 Iowa simultaneously on the south courts. Both of those matches will take flight at 9:30 a.m.
Later Thursday afternoon, four more teams, including the host 'Cats will be in action beginning at 1:30 p.m. Match No. 3 features No. 7 Michigan State and No. 10 Purdue on the north courts and the fourth match of the tournament will see 6th-seeded Northwestern battle the 11th seed, Penn State. The 'Cats took down the Nittany Lions in their regular season match on April 13, 5-2, in University Park, Pa.
The top four seeds in the Big Ten received byes into the quarterfinals, which begin Friday, April 27 at 9:30 a.m. The regular-season-champion and top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes will await the winner of the clash between the Badgers and Cornhuskers on the south courts and No. 4 Minnesota will play either the Hoosiers or Hawkeyes on the north courts in match No. 6.
Friday's second session will see the 2nd-seeded Michigan Wolverines against either their instate rival Michigan State or the Boilermakers on the south courts at 1:30 p.m. No. 3 Illinois will take on the winner of Thursday's match between the Wildcats and Nittany Lions on the north courts at that time.
The Big Ten Tournament semifinals will be held on Saturday, April 28. The winners of matches five and six from Friday will play first at 9:30 a.m. and then the victors from matches seven and eight will hit the purple surface at 1:30 p.m.
The two teams left standing after the semifinal duals will go toe-to-toe on Sunday at noon on the south courts to determine the Big Ten Tournament Champion. That match will be televised on the Big Ten Network on May 10 at 5 p.m.
All matches are scheduled for the Vandy Christie Tennis Center, however, in the event of inclement weather or unplayable conditions at that facility, matches will be moved indoors to the Combe Tennis Center. Directions to both facilities are available on the Tournament Central page. Links to view live stats for each match throughout the tournament are also available on that page.
Spectator parking is available next to the dorms north of the tennis courts and on nearby streets. Drivers must obey all posted parking regulations, including two-hour parking signs on streets. Please note, if the matches are held indoors at Combe Tennis Center on Thursday and Friday, you must pay to park in the lot to the west of the building. There is a pay box located at the north end of the main SPAC parking lot. There are no restrictions within Northwestern University parking lots on Saturday and Sunday.
Admission is free for all four days of the Big Ten Tournament and concessions, along with official Big Ten Tournament t-shirts, will be available.
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