Purdue will be Northwestern’s first-round opponent today in its quest for a fourth straight Big Ten women’s tennis championship.

The No. 8-seed Boilermakers defeated No. 9 Michigan State 4-1 on Thursday. No. 1 NU had a bye in the first round.

The Wildcats will attempt to continue their 25-match conference win streak when they face Purdue at 9 a.m. today.

In the other first-round games, Michigan beat Minnesota 4-1 and Indiana topped Penn State by the same score. In each case, the higher seed won its match. The second round will feature No. 4 Illinois against No. 5 Iowa, No. 2 Wisconsin against No. 7 Indiana and No. 3 Ohio State against No. 6 Michigan.

Even though the NU men’s tennis team already knew who it would be facing today – No. 5 Purdue – there was one surprise in Thursday’s first round.

No. 10 Wisconsin upset No. 7 Iowa 4-0 to advance to the second round of the Big Ten tournament. The victory means the Badgers, who went 2-8 in the conference, will face No. 2 Ohio State.

Today’s other men’s matches will feature No. 6 Michigan, a 4-2 winner over Indiana, against

No. 3 Minnesota. No. 8 Penn State, which defeated Michigan State 4-2, will face No. 1 Illinois.