WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Toledo will receive its final tuneup prior to the Mid-American Conference Championships when it competes in Purdue's Boilermaker Invitational on Saturday-Sunday, April 16-17. The two-day tournament will be held on the Kampen Course (Par-72, 7,465 yards) at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.

This weekend's event will consist of 54 holes with 36 holes being played on Saturday and the final 18 holes scheduled for Sunday. There will be a shotgun start at 8:45 a.m. both days.

Headlining this year's 15-team field will be seven squads - No. 2 Illinois, No. 33 Purdue, No. 49 Michigan State, No. 46 Kent State, No. 51 Louisville, No. 55 Northwestern and No. 78 Ohio State - that are ranked in the Top 100 of the latest Golfstat rankings.

The tourney will also include Central Florida, Cincinnati, Indiana, reigning MAC champion Miami, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois and Wisconsin.  

The Rockets' lineup at the Boilermaker Invitational will include senior Otto Black, sophomore Stephen Watts, senior Thomas Shindler, sophomore Colin Joseph and freshman Spencer Shoemaker.

UT will compete with a full roster for the first time in over one month since the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular on March 12-13. Shoemaker has missed the last two tourneys due to injury.

Black and Watts currently lead Toledo with 73.1 and 75.2 stroke averages, respectively.

The Midnight Blue & Gold is coming off a 12th-place finish at the Hoosier Collegiate at Otter Creek on April 9-10 in Columbus, IN. Black (73-71) paced Toledo at even-under par 144 and tied for seventh place. The three-time all-league honoree has now been the Rockets' top finisher in four-consecutive events this spring. 

Toledo will participate in the Boilermaker Invitational for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons. A year ago, UT finished tied for seventh place with a team score of 19-over par 883 (292-293-298) and former Rocket Chris Selfridge tied for sixth place at two-under par 214 (71-72-71).

Illinois secured last year's team title with an impressive 35-under par 829 (276-268), posting an eye-popping 32-stroke advantage over second-place Louisville. The Fighting Illini also had four individuals among the top five with teammates Charlie Danielson (67-65-74) and Thomas Detry (69-67-70) tied for medalist honors at 10-under par 206.

Fans can follow live scoring every three holes for this weekend's event through BirdieFire at http://bit.ly/1qOpORM.

Following this weekend, the Rockets will turn their attention to the MAC Championships at Highland Meadows Country Club on Thursday-Saturday, April 28-30 in nearby Sylvania. Toledo registered a second-place finish a year ago and will look for its first league title since 2004.

2016 Boilermaker Invitational Quick Facts
Dates: Saturday-Sunday, April 16-17
Where: Kampen Course (West Lafayette, IN) – Par-72, 7,465 Yards
Times: 8:45 a.m. Shotgun Start for 36 Holes on Saturday; 8:45 a.m. Shotgun Start for 18 Holes on Sunday
Teams: Central Florida, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Kent State, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Southern Illinois, TOLEDO, Wisconsin