Purdue Sports Update Oct. 17

Purdue Set for Home-and-Away Week vs. Rutgers, Michigan

Soccer’s penultimate week of the regular season features the home finale at Folk Field as part of a home-and-away weekend, hosting Rutgers on Thursday coupled with the first of consecutive road trips to the state of Michigan on Sunday for the program’s first appearance in Ann Arbor since 2019.

Kickoff times are set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Folk Field and 1 p.m. Sunday at the U-M Soccer Stadium.

Thursday is the program’s annual Hammer Down Cancer Game. The Boilermakers will don special neon yellow volt uniforms (with the goalkeepers in black). Fans can bid on the individual player jerseys via a silent auction, which will remain open until Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Proceeds benefit the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.

Purdue held its annual Senior Day ceremony on Sept. 1 this year, recognizing the program’s 2024 senior class for its contributions to the program.

Rutgers has played just four games at Folk Field – three against the Boilermakers and one at the 2014 Big Ten Tournament – since joining the Big Ten in the fall of 2014. That makes the Scarlet Knights the least-frequent visitors to West Lafayette since the league’s expansion prior to the 2014-15 school year.

On the flip side, Purdue has not played in Ann Arbor since its first road game of the 2019 conference season. The Boilermakers will have played 59 Big Ten regular-season games since its last appearance at the U-M Soccer Stadium, representing the program’s longest active streak without a visit to any of the conference rivals (excluding newcomers UCLA and USC).

Purdue enters the week four points behind Minnesota for the 10th and final berth in the Big Ten Tournament. Sunday, Oct. 27 is the final day of the regular season, with the Boilermakers returning to the Great Lakes State to take on Michigan State.

Rutgers is once again one of the top defensive teams in the conference, having conceded just eight goals in 14 games to rank tied for second in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights posted seven consecutive shutouts during a seven-game win streak from Aug. 28 to Sept. 26. They extended the run to a 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2) before Iowa won in Piscataway on Sunday.

Conversely, Michigan has surrendered a league-high 32 goals and is also last in the league in goal differential (minus-21). While their conference schedule has been among the toughest in the Big Ten, the Wolverines are just 1-6-1 since defeating common opponent Alabama 1-0 on Sept. 8.

The Boilermakers have posted six shutouts for the first time since their 2021 NCAA Tournament team had seven in 22 games. Individually, Emily Edwards has moved into sixth place on Purdue’s single-season list. The four clean sheets on the road are the program’s most since 2019.

Chiara Singarella’s team-leading five goals are the most by a newcomer since Kylie Hase had five as a freshman in 2017. Hase scored the lone goal of the night in a Big Ten-opening win at Michigan that season, the Boilermakers’ first-ever victory in Ann Arbor.

Gallardo Guevara Takes Second at ITA Ohio Valley Regional

Purdue’s Carmen Gallardo Guevara took home runner-up honors at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional, hosted by Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday.

Gallardo Guevara already earned a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship as a regional finalist notched five wins to reach the championship round where she squared off with No. 34 Bridget Stammel from Vanderbilt. The Commodores’ junior outlasted Purdue’s senior 7-5, 6-3 in the final match of the regional.

Gallardo Guevara will be the first Boilermaker to reach the NCAA Singles Championship since Silvia Ambrosio in 2019 and just the sixth in program history. The native of Madrid, Spain, will head to Waco, Texas, Nov. 19-24.

Q&A with Devynne Charlton, Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Famer

A member of the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024, Devynne Charlton will be officially inducted on Friday.

Charlton is a two-time Olympian and five-year letterwinner as a sprinter and hurdler for Purdue Women’s Track & Field.

She won 11 individual conference championships while leading the Boilermakers to the 2017 Big Ten Outdoor Championships team title.

Charlton earned seven First Team All-America honors and a pair of Second Team honors during her time at Purdue, and the accolades keep going. She was named the 2017 Purdue Athletics Female Athlete of the Year after winning five Big Ten individual titles and clinching three top eight finishes at the NCAA Championships.

Charlton still holds school records in the 100-meters, 100-meter hurdles, 60-meters and 60-meter hurdles.

She also holds the world record in 60-meter hurdles, which she set earlier this year.

Since graduation, the Boilermaker great has continued competing on the world stage with great distinction for her native Bahamas, most recently in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Q: How would you describe your approach to your athletic and academic pursuits during your time at Purdue?

Charlton: I approached my time at Purdue knowing that it would set me up for success beyond the university, in both my athletic career and future occupation. I felt as though Purdue was a home away from home, and I was surrounded by a group of people that always had the best interest of the student-athlete at heart.

Q: What did you learn during your time at Purdue that has been the most valuable for you?

Charlton: That the connections you make at Purdue will stay with you for the rest of your life. It’s very important to network and make lasting friendships.

Q: What advice would you give current student-athletes that you wish someone had given you during your time at Purdue?

Charlton: Take advantage of all the resources Purdue has to offer. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or ever feel as though you need to do anything alone.

Q: What is your favorite Purdue Athletics memory?

Charlton: My favorite memory is winning a Big Ten title with my team in 2017 after years of just missing out.

Q: Did you have a favorite coach, trainer, or administrator?

Charlton: I had an academic advisor, Tiffany Britten, who not only cared about my performance in the classroom or on the track, but also cared about me as an individual. She was honest but fair and never let student-athletes just coast through. She held everyone to a higher standard and was personally invested in seeing that we were successful.

Q&A with Annie Drews, Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Famer

A member of the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024, Annie Drews will be officially inducted on Friday.

Drews was a four-year letterwinner as an outside hitter for Purdue Volleyball. She was a gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, playing a key role in Team USA’s historic run on the world stage.

Drews was also a silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has become a regular with the U.S. Senior National Team.

Before her international glory, she led the Boilermakers to three NCAA Tournament trips, including two Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight. Drews closed out her Purdue career with Second Team All-America honors in 2015 along with back-to-back First Team All-Big Ten accolades.

A leader on the court and in the classroom, she was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

Q: How would you describe your approach to your athletic and academic pursuits during your time at Purdue?

Drews: “At Purdue, I was given every resource to succeed both on and off the court. I aimed to maximize my athletic and academic ability by tapping into those resources with the hope of simplifying my life so I could best perform on the weekends. Big and small services, such as meals, laundry, charter flights, massages, tutors, internship opportunities and fellowship of Christian athletes all aided in helping me optimize each day I wore Old Gold & Black.”

Q: What did you learn during your time at Purdue that has been the most valuable for you?

Drews: “I gained confidence to say yes to opportunities that ultimately propelled me into my professional and national team success. I had several summer jobs and internships, both through athletics and through my school. I left the country every single year — for volleyball, a Big Ten All-Star tournament and a mission trip. I learned how to deal with the pressure of being a critical piece of a team in the toughest conference in the country. All of these events stretched me out of my comfort zone and provided me valuable life experience that made my next steps post-college not seem so scary.”

Q: What advice would you give current student-athletes that you wish someone had given you during your time at Purdue?

Drews: “I am a nine-year pro and two-time Olympic medalist, and I can confidently say that in most circumstances I’ve gotten to experience playing post-college, none have come close to having the resources that Purdue has. It’s a posh and well-rounded experience.

Exhaust the resources to be your absolute best, because it will never be as efficient or seamless once you leave. And if there’s ever a time to unapologetically invest in and bet on yourself to be great, now is the time! You won’t know what you’re capable of unless you drive your own ship.”

Q: What is your favorite Purdue Athletics memory?

Drews: “My sophomore year, we went to Mizzou for the NCAA Tournament and knocked out a top seed that I believe had been undefeated, and then went to Illinois to eliminate them and advance to the Elite Eight.

We fell short in the quarterfinal, but I’ll never forget the student section, band and cheerleaders making the trip in a heavy blizzard to meet us at our hotel before the match and properly send us off into our game.”

Q: Did you have a favorite coach, trainer, or administrator?

Drews: “John Shondell was a big piece in making me believe I could do more than I thought I was capable. I will never forget sitting in his office right after my senior season concluded and him looking me in the eye and telling me, clear as day, I could be on the national team if I wanted. It seemed like a pipe dream at the time, but it’s one example of a meaningful moment of encouragement.”

Q&A with Bob Ford, Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee

A member of the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024, Bob Ford will be officially inducted on Friday.

Ford is a three-year letterwinner for Purdue Men’s Basketball who earned First Team All-Big Ten honors as a senior in 1972.

He became just the third Academic All-American in school history and ranks 10th in program history for both scoring average and rebounding average.

Ford is already a Hall of Famer, in fact, since he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1997.

He was the 11th Boilermaker to surpass 1,000 career points scored with 1,244 points during an era in which freshmen did not play in varsity action.

Ford was a member of the World University Team in 1970 and the Pan-American Team in 1971.

Additionally, he used to be the host and emcee of the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony in the early years of its establishment.

Q: How would you describe your approach to your athletic and academic pursuits during your time at Purdue?
Ford: I was given an extraordinary opportunity to grow both athletically and academically at Purdue. The support structure available to student-athletes at Purdue is second to none, and I knew if I worked hard both on the basketball court and in the classroom that success was well within reach.

Q: What did you learn during your time at Purdue that has been the most valuable for you?
Ford: Building teams has always been important to me. Whether it be on the basketball court or in the workplace, a good, strong team can overcome almost any obstacle. I was fortunate enough to have good teammates on the basketball court and in the workplace that allowed me to be successful.

Q: What advice would you give current student-athletes that you wish someone had given you during your time at Purdue?
Ford: No matter how hard you work, there is always someone somewhere who’s working just as hard with the same desire for success that you have. Give it your best every day so that you know at the end of the day you have done the very best that you can.

Q: What is your favorite Purdue Athletics memory?
Ford: After a summer of playing on the World University team behind an individual from Kentucky, we traveled to Lexington and defeated Kentucky and coach Adolph Rupp in their own holiday tournament.

Q&A with 2024 Leroy Keyes Hall of Fame member Kevin Plawecki

A member of the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024, Kevin Plawecki will be officially inducted on Friday.

Plawecki is a three-time letterwinner for Purdue Baseball (2010-12).

As a catcher, he was named the 2012 Big Ten Player of the Year and Co-MVP of the 2012 team that won Purdue’s first Big Ten title since 1909, as well as the conference tournament crown.

Plawecki was a finalist for the 2012 Johnny Bench Award and earned Second Team All-America honors. He still ranks in the top 10 in various program single-season record lists, including hits, runs, doubles, total bases and being hit by pitch.

After his time at Purdue, Plawecki was selected 35th overall in the 2012 MLB Draft by the New York Mets, and he later made his Major League debut in 2015.

He has spent eight seasons with the Mets, Cleveland Guardians, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers.

Q: How would you describe your approach to your athletic and academic pursuits during your time at Purdue?
Plawecki: From a young age, all I remember is watching Purdue sports. Both of my parents went to Purdue, so our Saturdays were filled with Boilermaker football. Growing up watching Drew Brees in football, Brian Cardinal in basketball, all I ever thought about doing was being a Boilermaker. On top of the athletics, I knew how well-regarded and great the schooling is there. I’ll be forever grateful for all that I learned through sports and through my education at Purdue.

Q: What did you learn during your time at Purdue that has been the most valuable for you?
Plawecki: Responsibility and communication. My teammates and coaches allowed me to be myself as well as hold me accountable. I didn’t do anything on my own. It was a collective group of friendships that allowed us to be so great.

Q: What advice would you give current student-athletes that you wish someone had given you during your time at Purdue?
Plawecki: Just to take in all the early morning workouts, late night studies. Enjoy the grind because it’s all worth it and goes by fast!

Q: What is your favorite Purdue Athletics memory?
Plawecki : Meeting my now wife in Owen Hall my freshman year. She was a soccer player who played all 4 years, and now my wife and mother to our three beautiful kids. Winning the Big Ten Championship and Big Ten Tournament in 2012 was pretty cool, too!

Q: Did you have a favorite coach, trainer, or administrator?
Plawecki: All of them! Doug Schreiber, Jeff Duncan and trainer Casey Kohr to name a few.

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