Feb. 24, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team picked up a much-needed victory today, defeating Brown 4-3 in Providence. The win brings the Boilermakers' record to 3-4 (0-1 Big Ten), and stops a brief two-match losing streak.
The one-point victory came in dramatic fashion. The Boilermakers secured the match's first point by winning all three doubles contests.
Junior Scott Mayer, who teamed with senior Dan Swan for a win at No. 1 doubles, continued his strong play with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Nick Malone at No. 1 singles.
Freshman Sounak Chatterjee came through with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Ben Brier at No. 6.
And with Purdue dropping the No. 2, 3 and 4 single matches, the team match came down to sophomore Troy Havens at No. 5. Facing Nick Goldberg, Havens won the first set 6-4 before losing the second 6-1. Down a break late in the deciding set, Havens rallied for a 7-6 victory to lift the Boilermakers to their third win this season.
Purdue coach Tim Madden was ecstatic with Havens' clutch performance.
"Troy was a man today," Madden said. "He played with a lot of confidence, and he was able to handle the pressure and find a way to win."
Madden also praised Mayer, who is now 5-2 at the No. 1 singles spot this spring.
"Scott keeps winning against some of the best players in the nation," Madden said. "What he's doing is playing well on his side of the net, while also keeping his opponent off balance."
Team-wise, Madden considers this a significant victory for the Boilermakers.
"We've gotten off to some great starts because of our doubles play, but then we tend to try to do it the hard way through singles," Madden said. "Today we finally found a way to break through. This is a feeling we haven't felt yet this year."
Madden and the Boilermakers want this feeling to last. Purdue will have a chance to keep its momentum going when it hosts Ball State on March 1 at 2 p.m.
"We need to practice with confidence this week," Madden says. "Our schedule just gets tougher."
Purdue 4, Brown 3Singles1. Scott Mayer (P) def. Nick Malone (B) 6-2, 3-6, 6-22. Justin Natale (B) def. Derek Miller (P) 6-2, 6-43. Jamie Cerretani (B) def. Andrew Wakefield (P) 6-2, 7-64. Chris Drake (B) def. Laith Al-Agba (P) 4-6, 6-4, 6-45. Troy Havens (P) def. Nick Goldberg (B) 6-4, 1-6, 7-66. Sounak Chatterjee (P) def. Ben Brier (B) 6-3, 6-4Doubles1. Dan Swan/Mayer (P) def. Malone/Cerretani (B) 9-72. Al-Agba/Carl McCafferty (P) def. Drake/Natale (B) 9-83. Miller/Wakefield (P) def. Brier/Kris Goddard (B) 8-5
- P -