April 6, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Once again, the 4-3 bug bit the Purdue women's tennis team. The 58th-ranked Boilermakers suffered a one-point loss to No. 49 LSU at the Varsity Tennis Courts on Wednesday, to drop to 5-10 overall. The Lady Tigers improved their record to 8-9 with the victory.
The Purdue defeat snapped a season-long three-match win streak for the Boilermakers, and was their sixth by a one-point margin this spring.
LSU, which came into the match with a 1-4 record in road contests, came out firing despite windy conditions on the outdoor courts. The Lady Tigers won all three doubles matches to take the first point, then won the first two singles matches to come off the court at No. 5 and No. 6.
Freshman Stephanie Wooten put Purdue on the board with a come-from-behind win at No. 2; she defeated LSU junior Lauren Seaman 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Purdue needed to win all three remaining matches, but LSU dashed any hopes of a Boilermaker victory with a 6-3, 6-4 decision by Marina Chiarelli over freshman Brooke Beier at No. 4.
With the team outcome already decided, senior Shawna Zuccarini and sophomore Hala Sufi tacked on three-set wins at No. 3 and No. 1 for Purdue.
Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo was pleased to see Wooten, Zuccarini and Sufi gut out wins, but had hoped for a more favorable end result for his team.
"LSU won this match for two reasons: they did a better job of handling the elements, which was to be expected because they have played outdoors much more than we have, and they brought more competitive energy," Iandolo said. "We need to do a better job with both of those things if we plan on finishing out the Big Ten season like we want to."
The conference schedule will resume for Purdue this weekend, when the Boilermakers play host to No. 38 Michigan and No. 62 Michigan State on April 9 and 10.
Iandolo believes both matches will be played outdoors, which he said should favor his squad.
"I think it will be an edge for us that we played this match outdoors," Iandolo said. "Michigan and Michigan State haven't played outdoors very often, so I truly believe that we can take advantage of that."
#49 LSU 4, #58 Purdue 3
Singles
1. #99 Hala Sufi (P) def. Amanda Mang (LSU) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. Stephanie Wooten (P) def. Lauren Seaman (LSU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Shawna Zuccarini (P) def. Staten Spencer (LSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
4. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Brooke Beier (P) 6-3, 6-4 *
5. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Alyssa Rodriguez (P) 6-3, 7-6
6. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Amy Walgenbach (P) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
1. Seaman/Tucker (LSU) def. Lara Burgarello/Zuccarini (P) 8-6
2. Mang/Spencer (LSU) def. Beier/Wooten (P) 9-7
3. Chiarelli/Caliari (LSU) def. Rodriguez/Sufi (P) 8-4
Order of singles finish: 5, 6, 2, 4, 3, 1
Order of doubles finish: 3, 1, 2
* Denotes match-clinching win.
Purdue: 5-10 (2-2 Big Ten)
LSU: 8-9
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