March 4, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue (3-4, 0-1 Big Ten) lost a deceptively close battle with No. 3 Illinois (9-1, 1-0) on Friday. The match saw the 50th-ranked Boilermakers sweep the three doubles matches, only to lose their six singles bouts.
The atmosphere was electric from the start, as the featured doubles match went wire-to-wire. Purdue's No. 1 team of junior Paul Rose and senior David Robison played Illinois' Ryler DeHart and Pramod Dabir to a 4-4 tie after the first eight games of their set.
Riding the serve of Robinson, the Boilermaker duo won three of the next five games to take the match.
Coming off a team victory over No. 17 Vanderbilt last weekend, Robinson hoped the Boilermakers would add another upset to their credit.
"Last weekend we had one of the biggest wins in this program's history," Robinson said. "There was a genuine belief among this team that we could come in here today and win, knowing we can compete with top-ranked teams."
Robinson and Rose closed out their match just in time to watch their teammates compete in tie-breaker sets.
The No. 3 team of junior Colin Foster and sophomore Scott Warner was first to clinch its tie-breaker, giving the Boilermakers the doubles point for the match.
Moments later seniors Sounak Chatterjee and Filip Koziell knocked off Kevin Anderson and Monte Tucker of Illinois to sweep the doubles competition.
However, the Boilermakers would not fare as well in the singles portion of the match.
Purdue head coach Tim Madden knew beating Illinois would be challenge, and was proud of his team's effort and total turnaround from a three-match losing streak earlier this season.
"Two weeks ago this team underwent a transformation," Madden said. "We went from a team that practiced well to a team that competes well. We fought for every single point today, and we just got beat."
Among the notable singles matches was the battle between Rose and Illinois freshman Kevin Anderson. Anderson, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, is ranked No. 15 in the latest ITA singles poll.
Rose battled both Anderson and a knee injury before falling 6-3, 6-3.
Madden was quick to point out the intensity of his team's leader.
"Paul fought so hard today," Madden said. "He is so much more than our top singles player; he's one of the best leaders by example this program has ever seen."
Madden also made it clear that his team was closer to a win than most would think.
"In virtually all our matches today we were a few key points away from taking control and winning," Madden said. "This group of guys is going to continue fighting, and I promise we'll make believers out of other teams and ourselves."
Illinois moved to 9-1 with the victory. The Fighting Illini's only loss came on Feb. 19, when they fell to No. 1 Baylor in the semifinals of the National Team Indoors.
The Boilermakers will have a week off before embarking on a spring break trip to California. Purdue will return to the court March 14, when they face Princeton in California.
#3 Illinois 6, #50 Purdue 1
Singles
1. #15 Kevin Anderson (I) def. Paul Rose (P) 6-3, 6-3
2. #1 Ryler DeHeart (I) def. Sounak Chatterjee (P) 6-4, 6-3
3. #78 Monte Tucker (I) def. Filip Koziell (P) 7-5, 6-4 *
4. Pramod Dabir (I) def. David Robinson (P) 7-5, 7-6 (4)
5. Evan Zeder (I) def. Jarred Leibner (P), draw 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
6. Ruben Gonzales (I) def. Colin Foster (P) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
1. Robinson/Rose (P) def. DeHeart/Dabir (I) 8-6
2. Chatterjee/Koziell (P) def. Anderson/Tucker (I) 9-8
3. Foster/Warner (P) def. Zeder/Gonzales (I) 9-8
Order of singles finish: 2, 1, 6, 3, 4, 5
Order of doubles finish: 1, 3, 2
*Denotes match-clinching win.
Purdue: 3-4 (0-1)
Illinois: 9-1 (1-0)