May 14, 1999
WEST LAFAYATTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis season came to a halt this afternoon, May 14, when the 19th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs eliminated the 37th-ranked Boilers 4-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn at the Varsity Courts. With the loss, the Boilers bow out of the tournament and conclude their season with a 17-8 overall record, while the Bulldogs improve to 12-11. Friday's meeting is the second between the two squads. Purdue took a 7-2 victory in 1986. This was the third year in a row that the Boilermakers had made the postseason. Last year, Purdue advanced to the regional semifinals, defeating Michigan 4-2 for the third time that season before falling to top-seeded and No. 12-ranked Duke 4-0.
"We have a lot to be proud of this year," Purdue coach Tim Madden says. "Mississippi State is a tough team. They were solid from the top to the bottom of the lineup."
Purdue looked good early, as the Boilers took the doubles point on the strength of victories in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. All-Big Ten performers Cris James and Jason Marshall teamed at second doubles to blank Mason Grenne and David Ruiz, 8-0, while senior Jamie Gordon and sophomore Dan Swan defeated Jeremy Bayon and Mathieu Soto by a score of 8-6 at No. 3. In the 25 dual matches this season, Purdue won the doubles point 21 times.
Unfortunately, that was the only point Purdue could put on the board, as the Bulldogs won four singles matches to take the victory. Two singles matches were suspended before a verdict was reached.
"Today for us to have a chance to win this match, we would have had to be at the top our game," Madden said. "For some reason or another, we were far from that. That is not to take anything away from the year we had."
Though Purdue came up on the short end of the stick today, the Boilers remain positive about what lies ahead, especially after finishing second in the Big Ten Tournament, the highest finish in school history. With the loss, however, the Boilers say goodbye to three seniors. For the past four years, Jamie Gordon, Cris James and Derek Myers have been the backbone of the Purdue program. The trio that has worked so hard to bring the Boilers out of the cellar and onto the national scene. James was the Boilers' most versatile player; as he played high in singles and doubles and was successful in both. A three-time All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten honoree, James won a total of 228 matches (95 singles, 133 doubles) in four years with the Old Gold and Black. Gordon, also established himself as a national threat. A two-time All-Big Ten and three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Gordon registered three wins over his career against top 10-ranked players. He, along with James, won 20-plus matches all four years under coach Tim Madden. The last but not least member of the senior trio was Myers. Myers spent quite a bit of time this year playing at the top of the lineup in both singles and doubles, taking over for James when he was out with an injured shoulder. The Greenwood, Ind., native began his career with a bang, winning 30 singles and 34 doubles matches. For his career, Myers racked up 119 doubles victories and 93 singles wins.
"I cannot say enough about our seniors," Madden said. "They have laid a solid foundation for the history of Purdue tennis."
Mississippi State will face 11th-ranked Tennessee (18-9) in the second round of the NCAA Championships on Saturday at 10 a.m. for the right to play in the round of 16 in Athens, Ga., on May 22-25.
FINAL: MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, PURDUE 1
SINGLES
No. 1 Marco Baron (MSU) def. Jamie Gordon (PU) 6-3, 6-1No. 2 Matthieu Ballay (MSU) vs. Derek Myers (PU) SuspendedNo. 3 Jeremy Bayon (MSU) def. Cris James (PU) 6-3, 7-5No. 4 Mathieu Soto (MSU) vs. Jason Marshall (PU) SuspendedNo. 5 David Ruiz (MSU) def. Derek Miller (PU) 6-2, 6-0No. 6 Conrad Hunter (MSU) def. Cade Lutz (PU) 6-1, 6-3DOUBLES
No. 1 Matthieu Ballay/Marco Baron (MSU) vs. Derek Myers/Laith Al-Agba(PU) DNFNo. 2 Cris James/Jason Marshall (PU) def. Mason Greene/David Ruiz (MSU) 8-0 No. 3 Jamie Gordon/Dan Swan (PU) def. Jeremy Bayon/Matthieu Soto (MSU) 8-6