March 13, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 47th-ranked Purdue women's tennis team dropped a heartbreaker to its in-state rival Indiana Hoosiers 4-3 at the Lafayette Sports Center on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, Purdue falls to 4-4 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten, while Indiana improves to 6-5 and 1-1 in the league. The loss snapped the 50th-ranked Hoosiers four-match losing streak.
"IU did a good job playing error-free doubles," Purdue coach Mat Iandolo said. "They made you beat them. We ran into problems closing out our matches. I am proud of the fact that we put ourselves in the situation to win, but at the same time we did not take full advantage of it."
The defending Big Ten Champion Hoosiers got things going early as they picked up the very important doubles point to lead 1-0 going into singles competition. Purdue's lone win at doubles came at the No. 3 slot, as the team of sophomore Lisa Walgenbach and senior Laura Avgerinos outlasted IU's duo of Jennifer Hsia and Rebecca Wallihan 8-4. Hsia and Wallihan entered the match ranked tied for 50th in the nation.
Junior Jennifer Embry captured the first singles point for Purdue, demonstrating why she holds the No. 1 singles position and is ranked 59th in the nation. Embry defeated Zahra Ahamed in straight sets 6-3, 7-5, improving her spring season mark to 7-1.
At No. 2 singles, sophomore Erika Quebe fought back from one set down to defeat Kelly Blanch 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 to earn her five victory of the spring.
The only other Boiler to score a victory in singles action was freshman sensation Missy Wright. The Burlington, Ontario, native remained undefeated in the spring at 8-0 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Ana Ceretto. Caretto had the Hoosiers best singles record at 7-3 entering Saturday's action on the courts.
"They are winners of 15 of the last 17 Big Ten Championships," Iandolo said. "They were mentally very strong. We are trying to teach our ladies that aspect of the game."
The Boilers will now pack their bags for spring break and head west to California for four matches in five days starting March 15 against Pepperdine. That match is slated to start at 1:30 p.m.
Indiana 4, Purdue 3
SINGLES1. Jennifer Embry (PU) def. Zahra Ahamed (IU) 6-3, 7-52. Erika Quebe (PU) def. Kelly Blanch (IU) 4-6, 7-6, 6-43. Jessica Anderson (IU) def. Shannon Taheny (PU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-24. Amanda Field (IU) def. Lisa Walgenbach (PU) 6-1, 6-15. Missy Wright (PU) def. Ana Ceretto (IU) 6-4, 6-36. Ann Poosuthasee (IU) def. Laura Avgerinos (PU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3Purdue: 4-4 (0-2 Big Ten)
DOUBLES1. Anderson/Fitzgerald (IU) def. Embry/Wright (PU) 8-42. Ahamed/Blanch (IU) def. Taheny/Quebe (PU) 8-23. Avgerinos/Walgenbach (PU) def. Hsia/Wallihan 8-4