Purdue Sports Update: Friday, Jan. 10

Purdue Falls to No. 1 UCLA at Mackey Arena

Facing a ranked Big Ten opponent for the fourth straight game, the women’s basketball team fell 83-49 to No. 1 UCLA on Tuesday night in Mackey Arena.

Purdue (7-8, 0-4) was led offensively by Destini Lombard’s 13th game in double figures. The fifth year scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers.

The Boilermakers picked up 27 points from the bench. McKenna Layden turned in a career high in scoring with eight points in a career-high 27 minutes of action. The sophomore added four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Rashunda Jones tallied eight points and a career-high seven assists on the night.

The Boilermakers finished the night with a 33.3% clip from the field and went 6-of-18 from behind the arc. Layden, Lombard and Sophie Swanson evenly split the 3-pointers.

After a slow start in the first half, Purdue was outscored by nine points over the final two quarters, while shooting 43.5% and connecting on five triples. Purdue dished out nine of their 13 helpers for the game in the second half.

The Bruins (16-0, 5-0) built up a 25-point lead at halftime behind a 61% shooting clip and making five of their first six 3-point attempts. After just four points in the first half with no made field goals, UCLA’s Lauren Betts scored 13 in the second half to hold off any comeback bid. Betts finished with a game-high 17 points, as four Bruins finished in double figures.

NOTES
• UCLA leads the all-time series 3-2.
• Purdue finished with six steals to UCLA’s four.
• The Boilermakers scored 10 points on 10 Bruin miscues, while the visitors recorded 15 points on 15 Purdue turnovers.
• Sophie Swanson connected on her 60th career 3-pointer.
• Freshman Kendall Puryear finished with a career-high two steals.
• The sophomore class scored 24 points, its third highest total of the year.
• Lombard now has 811 points in her career, 189 shy of the 1,000-point club.

UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will close out the two-game homestand against their fifth straight ranked Big Ten opponent when No. 25 Michigan visits Mackey Arena for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday.   

Lee joins Barry Odom’s staff, as crucial positions solidified

Three of the most crucial off-field positions have been solidified for Purdue Football. Head coach Barry Odom selected Brandon Lee as the program’s general manager, while Brad Odom (Director of Recruiting) and Austin Van Poucke (Director of Operations) joined the team from UNLV. A player under Odom, Lee arrives at Purdue after serving as associate athletic director for student-athlete brand strategy and innovation at Mississippi State.

“I’ve had a long connection with Brandon and have seen his rise in the profession,” said Odom. “His experience and knowledge will transform Purdue Football and help take us to a new level. As a former player, he is passionate about the student-athlete experience, and we are so excited about his future with us at Purdue.”

Prior to Mississippi State, Lee spent three years at Missouri as assistant athletics director for Name, Image & Likeness (NIL). He had previous stops at Colorado (Special Projects Assistant and Discovery Officer) and Notre Dame (Director of Student-Athlete Professionalism).

While at his alma mater, Lee was responsible for leading Missouri’s NIL program by working collaboratively with both internal and external constituents to best support student-athletes. He developed relationships, education and programming that helped maximize Missouri’s efforts and student-athlete opportunities in the NIL space. 

A native of Indianapolis, Lee is a two-time graduate of Missouri, earning a bachelor’s degree in personal finance in 2018 and a master’s in business administration in 2020. He served as the SEC’s representative on the NCAA Board of Governors Federal and State Legislation NIL Working Group from 2019-20.

A former football student-athlete for the Tigers (2014-18), Lee played in 48 games over his career, racking up 124 tackles. Three of those seasons included playing for Odom, in which he became a starting linebacker. Off the field, Lee served on the SEC Leadership Council and took part in the 2018 NCAA Convention.  

Brad Odom spent the past two seasons as the director of player personnel at UNLV. Prior to making the move out to Las Vegas, he served as the assistant athletics director and an assistant coach at Ada High School in Oklahoma. The elder Odom returned to the world of education in 2021 after having worked in private business. He brings a wealth of experience in the sport of football, having coached at various schools since graduating from East Central University in Oklahoma, including serving as head coach at Dickson High School in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Charles Page High School in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

Van Poucke (rhymes with “BOOK”) served as UNLV’s director of football operations throughout the past two years under Barry Odom, joining the head coach in the move to Purdue. Before going out west, he was the director of operations for the Yale football program during the 2022 campaign. Van Poucke got his start in football operations by serving as a football operations graduate assistant at Arkansas for three seasons (2019-21). He moved to that position after working the previous two years as a football recruiting assistant for the Razorbacks. Van Poucke earned his bachelor’s degree in recreation & sport management from the SEC school in 2019 and his master’s in 2021. 

Wrestlers Beat Kent State in Final Road Dual Before B1G Action

The wrestling team defeated Kent State, 31-10, thanks to seven match wins at Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center on Friday night.

The Boilermakers (6-1) took care of business in their final road trip before beginning Big Ten action next week with a home dual against Northwestern.

No. 1 Matt Ramos, who has held the top ranking in the nation since winning the Cliff Keen Invite title on December 7, got the new year started on the right foot with a 17-4 major decision over Nico Calello.

He notched five takedowns and ultimately needed one more to earn his 11th technical fall, but ran out of time just before bringing his opponent down at the end of the third period. Ramos’ 10 tech falls still lead the nation this season.

The win marked Ramos’ 100th of his career. He is just the 18th wrestler in program history to eclipse the century mark with 100 career wins.

Redshirt junior Dustin Norris came out strong in one of his most impressive showings of the season, earning a 15-0 technical fall over 133-pounder Adan Benavidez in just 4:26. It was Purdue’s fastest tech of the evening and the third shutout of Norris’ season.

Purdue kept the bonus points rolling in the 141-pound match when No. 33 Greyson Clark beat Jordan Decatur in an 11-2 major decision. It was the Wrightstown, Wis., native’s fifth bonus point win of the year.

After Kent State’s Billy Meiszner won a 9-5 decision over Isaac Ruble, redshirt sophomore Kade Law responded by putting the Old Gold & Black back in the win column.

Looking for his first win of 2024-25, Law submitted the best offensive output of his career in a 17-2 tech fall (6:59) over Dominic Paterra. It was his first victory since taking third place in last February’s Greyhound Open.

No. 26 Brody Baumann later joined in on the bonus point party with a 21-5 tech fall over Hunter Andel in 6:31. It was the most points scored by any Boilermaker in a match this season, besting his own high mark of 20.

Orlando Cruz picked up his first dual win of the season with a 4-1 sudden victory win over Trent Thomas. Deadlocked at 1-1 entering the first overtime frame, Cruz wasted little time in scoring the winning takedown.

Wrestling in his home state, Brecksville, Ohio, native Ben Vanadia (No. 32) made his first career appearance as a ranked 197-pounder. He did not disappoint as he cruised to a 20-3 tech fall, his highest score of 2024-25.

Purdue improved to 6-1 with its win in the Buckeye State, good for the team’s best dual record since 2021.

UP NEXT

The Boilermakers return home to compete in Holloway Gymnasium for the first time this season. Purdue opens its Big Ten slate with a dual against Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and a live stream will be available on B1G+.

Boilers at Home vs. UK, ND Women as Dual Schedules Resume

The Swimming & Diving teams resume their dual meet schedules the first of two home duals this month at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center, hosting Kentucky and the Notre Dame women Friday morning.

Friday’s 16-event meet begins at 10 a.m., a time that was moved up an hour to aid in the Wildcats’ return to Lexington on Friday afternoon with snow in the forecast for much of Indiana. There are traditionally two heats for each event at a triple dual. The teams have agreed to a few minor alterations to the default 16-event lineup. Friday’s meet will feature the 400 medley relay for both genders as well as the 400 individual medley and 200 freestyle relay for the women (vs. the traditional 200 IM and 400 free relay, which the men will race).

The Purdue women are set for a home-and-away weekend as they travel to Champaign-Urbana on Saturday to continue their annual home-and-home series with Illinois. The 16-event dual is set for 4 p.m. ET.

Kentucky is a newcomer to the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center for dual meet action, joining Missouri as the Southeastern Conference opponents on the Boilermakers’ schedules this season. Purdue alumna and All-American Caitlin Hamilton (2010-13) is currently an assistant coach at UK, but the former Illinois State head coach indicated in an Instagram post this week she would not be making the trip for Friday’s meet.

Notre Dame is expected to have at least one men’s diver in attendance. Friday’s meet was originally scheduled as a full co-ed triple dual. But Notre Dame Athletics announced in August it was suspending its men’s swimming program for a minimum of one academic year, primarily related to an internal gambling circuit within the team.

The Purdue women hosted three triple dual meets (or larger) last season, posting a 6-1 record in the team results at those meets to help power a 10-2 run in dual meet results dating back to the start of the 2023-24 campaign. It’s a successful surge that began with a dual meet victory at Notre Dame in the Boilers’ 2023-24 season opener.

Friday, the Fighting Irish will be making their first appearance at the Burke Aquatic Center since a co-ed dual in October 2019. Purdue visited South Bend in October 2021 and October 2023.

Daryn Wright set Purdue freshman records on both springboards while sweeping the events in the Boilermakers’ January 2023 dual at Illinois. Maggie Love also swept her three individual events (100 and 200 breast, 200 IM). A few days later, Love was recognized as the Big Ten Swimmer of the Week and Wright swept the Big Ten Diver and Freshman of the Week honors. At the time, it was Purdue’s first visit to Champaign since November 1991.

While the Boilermakers have not competed at home since the Purdue Invitational the weekend of Nov. 21-23, Purdue was represented at four meets in December. Brady Samuels was victorious in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly as 10 men’s swimmers competed at USA Swimming’s Toyota U.S. Open Championships. Wright (gold on 10M), Jordan Rzepka (silver on 10M), Sophie McAfee (bronze on 10M) and Avery Worobel (bronze on 3M) all medaled as 11 Boilermakers competed at the USA Diving Winter Nationals. Matheo Mateos (Paraguay) and Nathaniel Thomas (Jamaica) both raced for their countries at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Budapest. And 10 distance swimmers – five from each team – represented Purdue at the CSCAA Open Water Championships.

Dior Charles Joins Boilermakers

Head coach Dave Shondell signed junior transfer Dior Charles to the 2025 volleyball roster. Charles, 6’1″, comes to Purdue from Wake Forest with two years of eligibility remaining.

Purdue has signed five transfers over the off season with an average height of over 6’3″, with Charles joined by Lindsey Miller (6’4 middle from USC), Akasha Anderson (6’3 outside hitter from Michigan State), Nataly Moravec (6’3 outside hitter from Iowa) and Bianka Lulic (6’5″ middle from Miami).

The Boilermakers finished No. 9 in the AVCA final Coaches’ Poll, marking the third time in the last five years the program has finished in the top-10 in the nation.

2024 / AS A SOPHOMORE AT WAKE FOREST

• Continued to be a defensive force at the net during her second year,  including 108 of the team’s 118 sets
• Led the team in blocks with 133.0, tying for the fourth-best mark in Wake Forest’s single-season history (matched 2013’s Kristen Grissom)
• Finished sixth in the ACC in blocks among all league individuals (1.23/set), resting in the top 5 for a good portion of the fall
• Recorded a career-high 13 blocks at South Carolina (9/15)
• Posted 10 blocks versus Duke (10/11) and at Notre Dame (10/20)
• Shined in the team’s offensive attack at No. 17 Georgia Tech (10/27), tallying a career-best 12 kills while also adding five blocks
• Went 11-of-18 on attacks with only one error in a home victory over Syracuse (11/3)
• Had 10 kills and five blocks at Clemson (10/25)
• Notched a season-best three solo blocks twice
• Averaged 2.14 points per set
• Ranked fifth on the roster in kills with 154, including nine performances of 7-plus kills

2023 / AS A FRESHMAN AT WAKE FOREST

• ACC All-Academic Team
• Quickly emerged as an athletic, defensive presence during her first year while competing in 25 matches and starting in 18
• Second on the squad in total blocks (80.0)
• Contributed five or more blocks nine times
• Registered seven blocks in three different showings: versus App State (9/15), at Boston College (10/6) and versus Notre Dame (10/22)
• Showed out at Davidson (9/16), posting a career-high 10 kills on a .389 attacking clip and adding five blocks
• Tallied five or more kills in nine matches
• Stood out in a two-way performance against Mississippi State (Sept. 10) at the 2023 Kennesaw State Invitational — going 7-of-10 on attacks with only one error (.600) and collecting six blocks through three quick sets
• Posted six kills (.455) and four blocks in the season finale versus Boston College (Nov. 22)
• Stood as a top-10 individual in the ACC for blocks at a midpoint of the fall

HIGH SCHOOL

• 2021-22 MaxPreps national champion at Marymount
• Also finished as a CIF state champion in 2021-22
• AVCA All-America Watchlist
• Member of Sunshine Volleyball Club, as her team placed second at the JVA West Coast Cup and finished second at USAV Windy City Qualifier

Gencer Named Big Ten Player to Watch

Women’s tennis newcomer Ece Gencer was named a Big Ten Player to Watch ahead of the upcoming 2025 season.

She is one of just three freshmen in the league to receive the nod and just four underclassmen on the list.

Gencer, from Istanbul, Turkey, is coming off a fall 2024 season which she punched a ticket to the main draw of the ITA Ohio Valley Regional. Gencer is ranked 82 in the ITA singles rankings, boasting a 10-3 record entering the new year. The IMG Academy product came to Purdue with three titles in the ITF Junior Circuit, Tennis Europe U14 Top-50 nod, a career-high 412 in the ITF World Junior Rankings and more.

Gencer and the Boilermakers will begin their season Saturday, January 18 vs. Illinois State. In total, there will be 14 chances to catch the women’s tennis program at the Schwartz Tennis Center this spring.

2025 Women’s Tennis Schedule Unveiled

The women’s tennis program released its 2025 spring slate, featuring 14 chances to catch the Boilermakers at the Schwartz Tennis Center.

The season will begin on Saturday, January 18 as the Boilermakers take on Illinois State at 11 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, league action is slated to start Sunday, February 23 vs. Indiana at home.

Purdue’s home opponents include Illinois State, Butler, Xavier, Memphis, Eastern Michigan, DePaul, Tulsa before conference action begins. Home conference opponents include Indiana, Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State, No. 8 Michigan, Northwestern and Illinois.

Purdue will have just seven road contests this spring, including just one during non-conference action on January 26 at Kentucky. Meanwhile, the team will visit the campuses of No. 15 Ohio State, Penn State, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The final competition of the regular-season is set for April 20 at home vs. Illinois before the team travels to Ojai, California, for the Big Ten Tournament which will run Wednesday, April 23 through Saturday, April 26.

The Boilermaker squad features four in the ITA singles rankings, including No. 73 Fatima Gutierrez, No. 82 Ece Gencer, No. 101 Ida Clement, and No.103 Carmen Callardo Guevara. In comparison with its upcoming opponents, Purdue is the only team to feature four ranked in singles.