Purdue Spring Sports Update

While I have written mostly about baseball in terms of spring sports around here, there are other Purdue sports going on right now. Let's take a brief look at how well Purdue's other teams are doing at the moment.

Softball

The women's softball team is having a respectable season at 23-17 overall and 5-6 in the Big Ten. Last week they split a midweek doubleheader with Indiana before taking two of three at Wisconsin. This was after taking two of three at Iowa last weekend. So far they do have one win over a top 25 program, as they beat No. 25 Central Florida 3-2 on March 12^th in Orlando.

Pitcher Lilly Fecho has been excellent in the circle. The senior is 16-8 with a 1.89 ERA and two saves in 159 innings pitched. She has the best ERA in the entire Big Ten, and she is hoping to get Purdue to the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. Minnesota currently leads the conference at 8-1, but Michigan is the best team at 29-4 overall and 7-2 in the league.

With a strong finish to the year Purdue probably has a decent NCAA Tournament chance. The Big Ten normally gets several teams in, so we'll see. Purdue hosts Illinois this weekend after a road game at DePaul tomorrow.

Men's Golf

The men's golf team is positioned well for a deep postseason run after winning the Hoosier Collegiate this past weekend in Columbus, Indiana. Purdue topped the 13 team field by beating Miami (OH) in a playoff as both teams finished 2 over par. It was the third team championship for the program this spring.

The men's golf team is currently ranked 29^th nationally, but third in the Big Ten behind No. 28 Penn State and No. 2 Illinois. This weekend they host the Boilermaker Invitational before going to the Big Ten Championships next weekend in Newburgh, Indiana.

Women's Golf

The Women's team continues to improve, hitting the top 40 nationally this week after a second place finish in the Texas Tech red Raider Invitational. They started the season with a win at the Minnesota Invitational and they continue to improve each week. Their next match is April 22-24 at the Big Ten Championships in Indianapolis.

Men's Tennis

The men's tennis team is 13-8 overall, but just 2-5 in the Big Ten after losing to No. 5 Ohio State and No. 33 Penn State last weekend. They did win the all-important Governor's Cup point against Indiana 4-1 on March 8^th, however. Most of their losses are against ranked programs, and Purdue is ranked 57^th nationally.

Women's Tennis

The women's team is currently struggling at 9-11 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten. They had a nice 6-1 win over Indiana on April 2^nd, but followed it with losses to Northwestern and Illinois. This weekend they host Minnesota and Wisconsin as they try to get back to .500.

Track & Field

It should be a promising outdoor season, at least. The women finished second in the Big Ten during the indoor season, and the men were doing extremely well before injuries and such limited them in the Big Ten indoor meet. The Big Ten meet is May 13-15 this year at Nebraska.