April 18, 2008

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern will travel to East Lansing, Mich. this weekend to face Michigan State at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 19. The Wildcats are hoping for a conference victory before commencement of the Big Ten Championship next week.

In its last outing, Northwestern dropped a pair of Big Ten matches at home last weekend. The Wildcats fell to Minnesota on Saturday, 6-1, before falling to Iowa, 6-1, on Sunday. If the 'Cats can muster up a victory against Michigan State Saturday, they will clinch the No. 10 seed heading into the tournament.

Michigan State lost its last match at Penn State, 7-0. The Spartans, who are currently in tenth in the Big Ten standings, would fall into eleventh with a 'Cats victory Saturday. Northwestern has dominated the all-time series with Michigan State, 44-22.

After this weekend, the Wildcats travel to Iowa City, Iowa for the Big Ten Championship, April 23-27. Northwestern will play in the first round as either the No. 10 seed at 3 p.m., or as the No. 11 seed at noon Thursday, April 24.