March 3, 2000
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team almost pulled off a huge upset of the 21st ranked team, the Kentucky Wildcats, on Friday afternoon. Hosting the Wildcats, the Boilermakers moved to a team mark of 4-4 on the season.
With both Purdue men's and women's tennis teams being on their home court at the Lafayette Sports Center, the format for the matches was rearranged, and the singles matches were played first. For the No. 1 singles spot, senior Jennifer Embry came out with a 6-4, 6-2 victory to top Carolina Mayorga. Shannon Taheny of Barrington, Ill., also dominated her match to win 6-1, 6-4 over Sarah Witten. Purdue's Melissa Iqbal came up huge once again for the Boilers. The freshman outlasted her competitor, Amy Trefethen, in three sets 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 for a vital point for the team. With Purdue garnering three of the singles points and Kentucky also earning three of the points from singles, the doubles matches became crucial points if the Boilers were to win its battle with Kentucky.
The Purdue No. 1 doubles team, comprised of seniors Jennifer Embry and Shannon Taheny, battled with the Kentucky No. 1 doubles team, which is currently ranked 27th in the nation. The Boilermakers are currently ranked 15th in the nation and had a tough match with the Wildcats, but came out on top with a 9-8 hard-fought victory. The Boilermakers could not pull out either the No. 2 or No. 3 doubles points, and therefore the Kentucky Wildcats came up with the team victory. However, the Kentucky victory did not come without a fight from the hard-nosed Boilermaker team.
"Our team had a great battle this afternoon," Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo said. "I couldn't be happier with the effort our team put forth this afternoon. It was great to come so close to an upset victory. Our freshman Melissa Iqbal was a huge difference in our effort today. She has been coming out so hard lately, I am so pleased with her results."
The Boilers are back in action again tomorrow at the Lafayette Sports Center at 9 in the morning. Purdue is playing against the Utah Utes, who are 3-5 for the season.
"Our goal is to come out tomorrow as strong as we did today against Kentucky," Iandolo said. "We would like to avoid a letdown after such a competitive meeting with Kentucky."
Kentucky 5, Purdue 4
Singles
No. 1 Jennifer Embry (PU) def. Carolina Mayorga (UK) 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 Shannon Taheny (PU) def. Sarah Witten (UK) 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 Brooke Skeen (UK) def. Erika Quebe (PU) 7-6, 6-2
No. 4 Melissa Iqbal (PU) def. Amy Trefethen (UK) 6-0, 3-6, 6-1
No. 5 Jill Buckley (UK) def. Lisa Walgenbach (PU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
No. 6 Lauren Rookledge (UK) def. Lynsey Fick (PU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 Embry/Taheny (PU) def. Mayorga/Witten (UK) 9-8
No. 2 Skeen/Bradwell (UK) def. Walgenbach/Fick (PU) 8-5
No. 3 Rookledge/Buckley (UK) def. Iqbal/Quebe (PU) 8-6