March 26, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A slow start in doubles spelled disaster for the Purdue women's tennis team, which fell 4-3 to No. 43 Indiana at the Lafayette Sports Center on Saturday. The 61st-ranked Boilermakers dropped to 2-9 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten with the defeat, while the Hoosiers improved to 8-7 and 2-0.
Not only did Indiana win the match, but it also claimed a point in the Crimson and Gold Cup series, an all-sports competition between the Purdue and Indiana varsity teams. The Hoosiers now lead the 2004-05 competition 9-4.
Purdue, which has lost seven straight since upsetting No. 19 Texas A&M on Feb. 11, watched Indiana claim all three doubles matches to earn the first team point of the afternoon.
The Boilermakers entered the singles portion of the contest needing to win four of the six doubles matches to earn the team victory. They managed just three, from freshman Stephanie Wooten, freshman Brooke Beier and sophomore Alyssa Rodriguez. Wooten's three-set win over Sarah Batty at No. 2 came after the team outcome already had been decided.
Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo had hoped for a better start.
"It felt like we came out a little nervous or tight in doubles, and that cost us," Iandolo said. "We worked our way back into the match, but doubles was critical. We knew counting on winning four in singles against an evenly matched team would be difficult."
Purdue will have another chance to stop its losing streak Sunday, when it plays host to Penn State at the Lafayette Sports Center at 11 a.m. Iandolo knows something will have to change in order for the Boilermakers to get back on the winning track.
"We have to be the team with the chip on its shoulder and we have to attack," Iandolo said. "Hopefully tomorrow will be the first day of that new attitude."
#43 Indiana 4, #61 Purdue 3
Singles
1. Dora Vastag (I) def. #74 Hala Sufi (P) 6-3, 6-1
2. Stephanie Wooten (P) def. Sarah Batty (I) 6-7, 7-5, 10-3
3. Laura McGaffigan (I) def. Shawna Zuccarini (P) 6-1, 6-1
4. Brooke Beier (P) def. Dominika Walterova (I) 6-1, 6-4
5. Alyssa Rodriguez (P) def. Brianna Williams (I) 6-3, 6-2
6. Cecile Perton (I) def. Amy Walgenbach (P) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 *
Doubles
1. Batty/Walterova (I) def. Burgarello/Zuccarini (P) 8-5
2. Williams/McGaffigan (I) def. Beier/Wooten (P) 8-7
3. Perton/Vastag (I) def. Rodriguez/Sufi (P) 8-5
Order of singles finish: 3, 1, 5, 4, 6, 2
Order of doubles finish: 3, 1, 2
* Denotes match-clinching win.
Purdue: 2-9 (0-2 Big Ten)
Indiana: 8-7 (2-0 Big Ten)
- P -