April 14, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Just like that the Purdue women's tennis team has repositioned itself to succeed in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers, who were struggling with a 1-3 league mark heading into the weekend, won their second conference match in as many days with a 4-3 victory at Michigan today. The win, which comes on the heels of a 5-2 win at Michigan State on April 10, improves Purdue to 7-11 overall and evens its Big Ten record at 3-3. Michigan drops to 4-13 (3-4 Big Ten) with the loss, the Wolverines' fifth straight and fourth in a row by one point.
"This really helps our confidence heading into our last four regular season matches," Purdue coach Mat Iandolo said. "Michigan is a tough team and they were hungry. We were just able to pull it out, and that is great to see. This was a hard-fought battle, and it's nice to come out with the win."
The Boilermakers took a 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point. Junior Jennifer Embry and freshman Missy Wright, the 29th-ranked team in the nation, downed Brooke Hart and Jennifer Vaughn 8-3, while sophomores Erika Quebe and Lisa Walgenbach defeated Alison Sinclair and Szandra Fuzesi by the same score at No. 3.
Needing three wins in singles to pull out the match, the Boilers delivered. Walgenbach took care of business first, beating Sinclair 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5. Embry and classmate Shannon Taheny followed, with Embry winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 over Danielle Lund at No. 1, and Taheny rallying to defeat Fuzesi 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3.
"Our juniors came though big today," Iandolo said. "They showed a lot of composure and instilled confidence in the rest of the team. Lisa Walgenbach also had a banner day, winning at both singles and doubles."
Purdue returns to West Lafayette for its final home matches of the season against Northwestern (April 17) and Illinois (April 18). The Boilermakers will close out their season on the road at Wisconsin (April 24) and Iowa (April 25), before challenging for their first ever conference crown at the Big Ten Championships on April 29-May 3 in East Lansing, Mich.
SINGLES
1. Jennifer Embry (PU) def. Danielle Lund (UM) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
2. Brooke Hart (UM) def. Erika Quebe (PU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Shannon Taheny (PU) def. Szandra Fuzesi (UM) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. Jen Boylan (UM) def. Missy Wright (PU) 6-0, 2-6, 7-5
5. Lisa Walgenbach (PU) def. Alison Sinclair (UM) 6-3, 6-2
6. Jen Vaughn (UM) def. Lynsey Fick (PU) 6-1, 6-2
DOUBLES
1. Embry/Wright (PU) def. Hart/Vaughn (UM) 8-3
2. Lund/Boylan (UM) def. Taheny/Fick (PU) 8-4
3. Quebe/Walgenbach (PU) def. Sinclair/Fuzesi (UM) 8-3