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Purdue is set to host the 2007 edition of the Big Ten Men's Tennis Championship this weekend, Thursday, April 26 through Sunday, April 29. The postseason event will take place at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Ind., and features all 11 conference schools.

Six schools will open the championship on Thursday, as No. 8 seed Northwestern faces No. 9 Michigan State at 9 a.m. followed by a Noon battle between No. 6 Minnesota and No. 11 Purdue. Closing out opening day competition is No. 7 Indiana versus No. 10 Iowa at 3 p.m.

The top three seeds - No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Illinois - all received first-round byes and will battle the winners of Thursday's matches on Friday. No. 4 Wisconsin will also face No. 5 Penn State on Friday at 10 a.m.

After winning its second consecutive regular season title last weekend, Ohio State will look to defend its Big Ten Championship. At last year's championship, the Buckeyes won their first crown since 2001 after entering the event with the school's first-ever top seed. Currently ranked third in the nation, the Buckeyes compiled their seventh straight 20-win season and were tabbed as high as No. 2 in the country this year.

Michigan earns the No. 2 seed after its highest finish in the Big Ten regular season since 1999. The Wolverines broke into the nation's top 25 earlier this year for the first time since finishing the 2000 season at No. 23. Holding an 18-5 record, the Wolverines have also achieved their highest season win total since the 1995 campaign (17-9).

Winners of eight of the last 10 Big Ten crowns, the ninth-ranked Illini enter the championship with a record of 16-7 overall, including an 8-2 mark in conference play. Additional conference squads ranked in the ITA top 75 are No. 37 Minnesota, No. 40 Wisconsin, No. 41 Penn State, No. 64 Northwestern and No. 67 Indiana.

Throughout the year, the Big Ten has been represented by some of the nation's elite in both singles and doubles. Illinois' KevinAnderson is currently ranked fifth and Ohio State's Steven Moneke is tabbed as the seventh-best singles player, while 11 other conference athletes rank among the nation's top 125. In doubles, Michigan's duo of Brian Hung and Matko Maravic are eighth, closely followed by the reigning NCAA Champions of Anderson and Ryan Rowe in ninth. Five other conference tandems also own top-60 rankings.