First Round
No. 7 Minnesota (11-10, 4-6 Big Ten) vs. No. 10 Illinois (5-16, 1-9)
Illinois is long on toughness, but short on experience and will succumb to Minnesota’s home court domination. The Gophers are led by senior Ashley Schellhas, who has a 13-7 record this season in singles.
Daily Pick: Minnesota
No. 6 Purdue (12-8, 5-5) vs. No. 11 Wisconsin (4-16, 0-10)
Wisconsin has been on the ropes all year, losing all of its Big Ten matches and is currently on a three-match losing streak coming into the tournament. Purdue has been reeling of late, but with an at-large NCAA bid on the line, the Boilermakers have more to lose than the Badgers.
Daily Pick: Purdue
No. 8 Penn State (9-12, 3-7) vs. No. 9 Michigan State (12-11, 2-8)
The Spartans have lost seven of eight while Penn State enters the tourney with a 2-3 record in their last five duals. Seniors Andreea Niculescu and Sasha Abraham lead the Nittany Lions and will make the difference in this match at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively.
Daily Pick: Penn State
Quarterfinals
No. 4 Iowa (11-9, 7-3) vs. No. 5 Ohio State (18-9, 6-4)
Iowa obliterated Ohio State last month, 7-0. Don’t expect the Buckeyes to get any closer this time.
Daily Pick: Iowa
No. 1 Northwestern (18-4, 10-0) vs. No. 8 Penn State
These teams last met two months ago when NU swept Penn State, 7-0. With sophomore stud Georgia Rose back in the lineup, the Cats aren’t going home on Friday.
Daily Pick: NU
No. 2 IndianA (19-5, 9-1) vs. No. 7 Minnesota
The last time the two teams played, Indiana barely hung on for a 4-3 victory, winning two matches in three sets. In the same location, the Golden Gophers will get their revenge.
Daily Pick: Minnesota
No. 3 Michigan (14-6, 8-2) vs.
No. 6 Purdue
Michigan had their 11-match win streak come to a close on Sunday against Indiana, but that will just make the Wolverines hungrier. While Purdue has depth, they lack the punch needed to finish off the Wolverines.
Daily Pick: Michigan
Semifinals
No. 1 NU vs. No. 4 Iowa
The Cats have two singles players with 10-0 records against the Big Ten and the No. 10 ranked doubles team – simply too much for the to overcome.
Daily Pick: NU
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 7 Minnesota
Minnesota’s home court advantage ends in the semis, and their season should too.
DAILY Pick: Michigan
finals
No. 1 NU vs. No. 3 Michigan
While Michigan has lots of talent, they just aren’t experienced in this sort of tournament. In fact none of the conference has had any luck against the Cats in late April for the last eight years. Add to that a winning streak in the conference that goes back to 2004 and the situation looks bleak for the Wolverines.
Daily Pick: NU
– Compiled by Brian Regan
