April 1, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team posted its second consecutive decisive win Friday, beating Long Beach State 5-2 at the Lafayette Sports Center. The victory came on the heels of a 7-0 blanking of Penn State five days earlier.
The 61st-ranked Boilermakers got off to a quick start against "The Beach," as they won all three doubles matches to claim the first team point.
The steamrolling continued through singles. Senior Shawna Zuccarini was the first off the court at No. 3, beating Sandra Rocha 6-1, 6-0. Next off was sophomore Alyssa Rodriguez, who defeated Nicoletta Ratiu 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5. Clinching the match was 74th-ranked sophomore Hala Sufi, who knocked off Nicole Bouffler 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1.
Freshman Brooke Beier added a 6-3, 6-4 win over Rachael Porsz at No. 4, after the match was decided.
Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo was unsure if his players realized the accomplishment of beating the 72nd-ranked 49ers (9-7), last year's Big West champions.
"I think some of our players probably don't understand how good a win this is, but I suppose that's OK," Iandolo said. "Long Beach State is a very good team."
Iandolo was pleased with Purdue's doubles performance, as well as the production from the middle part of the singles lineup.
"I thought Shawna Zuccarini and Lara Burgarello at No. 1 doubles really set the tone for the whole match," Iandolo said. "And the results from 3, 4 and 5 singles were tremendous. Winning all three of those in the fashion we did says a lot about how well we played."
Purdue (4-9, 1-2 Big Ten) will have a chance to win its third straight match when it takes on No. 68 Ohio State in Columbus on Sunday. The match is slated to start at 11 a.m.
Iandolo and the Boilermakers are looking forward to meeting the Buckeyes.
"We are going to have to compete very hard. We know they will," Iandolo said.
#61 Purdue 5, #72 Long Beach State 2
Singles
1. #74 Hala Sufi (P) def. Nicole Bouffler (LBS) 6-2, 6-3 *
2. Stephanie Bengson (LBS) def. Stephanie Wooten (P) 7-5, 7-5
3. Shawna Zuccarini (P) def. Sandra Rocha (LBS) 6-1, 6-0
4. Brooke Beier (P) def. Rachael Porsz (LBS) 6-3, 6-4
5. Alyssa Rodriguez (P) def. Nicoletta Ratiu (LBS) 6-0, 6-0
6. Alanah Carroll (LBS) def. Amy Walgenbach (P) 6-0, 7-6
Doubles
1. Lara Burgarello/Zuccarini (P) def. Bouffler/Rocha (LBS) 8-2
2. Beier/Wooten (P) def. Porsz/Carroll (LBS) 8-4
3. Rodriguez/Sufi (P) def. Bengson/Krystina Katayama (LBS) 8-6
Order of singles finish: 3, 5, 1, 6, 4, 2
Order of doubles finish: 1, 2, 3
* Denotes match-clinching win.
Purdue: 4-9 (1-2 Big Ten)
Long Beach State: 9-7
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