May 1, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Opportunity has sprouted at the Big Ten men's tennis Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., as the Purdue men's tennis team (16-7 overall, 9-3 Big Ten) has a chance to win the conference tournament title for the first time in its 90-year history. Prior to this weekend, the Boilers best finish was third in 1945 and 1998.
The Old Gold and Black, ranked 42nd in the country, defeated No. 39 Northwestern today 4-2 in the semifinal round. Tomorrow's schedule will feature Purdue and the No 2 team in the country Illinois, with a chance for the Boilers to break the fighting Illini's two-year hold on the championship trophy.
Purdue started the afternoon on right foot, by winning the doubles point. The Purdue tandem of captain Cris James and sophomore Jason Marshall had no trouble with Joost Hol and Jamie Sahara, defeating the Wildcats' No. 2 pair 8-1. At No.3, Senior Jamie Gordon and sophomore Dan Swan picked up win number two with an 8-1 victory over Martin Bengtsson and Derrick Nguyen. The final doubles match was abandoned.
Singles play was not as easy for Purdue. The Boilers picked up wins at the one, four and five positions in the line-up, but dropped two matches early to fall behind 2-1. Gordon, a captain, avenged his regular season 6-0, 6-0 loss to Doug Bohaboy in the No. 1 spot to knot the team score. It took three sets for the seasoned Boilermaker to defeat the Wildcat, but Gordon came away with the 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.
At No. 4, Purdue's Marshall came away a winner. The sophomore defeated Hol 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 and paved the way for freshman Derek Miller to close the door on the Wildcats. Miller beat Brad Erickson 7-5, 6-4 and pushed the Boilers into the finals.
Tomorrow No. 3 seed Purdue will face No. 1 seed Illinois. On April 15, the Boilers traveled to Champaign took the Illini to the limit, losing a close 4-3 decision. The first serves will be tossed at 1 p.m.
Purdue 4, Michigan 2
Doubles
No. 1 Myers/Al-Agba (PU) ND Bohaboy/Erickson (NU) AbandonedNo. 2 Marshall/James (PU) def. Hol/Sahara (NU) 8-1No. 3 Gordon/ Swan (PU) def. Bengtsston/Nguyen (NU) 8-1Singles
No. 1 Jamie Gordon (PU) def. Doug Bohaboy (NU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4No. 2 Derek Myers (PU) ND Martin Bengstsson (NU) AbandonedNo. 3 Derrick Nguyen (NU) def. Cris James (PU) 6-3, 6-1No. 4 Jason Marshall (PU) def. Joost Hol (NU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2No. 5 Derek Miller (PU) def. Brad Erickson (NU) 7-5, 6-3No. 6 Jamie Sahara (NU) def. Cade Lutz (PU) 6-3, 6-3