April 28, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A dramatic victory lifted the Purdue women's tennis team into the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships, as the 47th-ranked Boilermakers defeated No. 42 Indiana 4-3 in Champaign, Ill., in a Friday quarterfinal. Purdue (13-9) advances to face top-seeded and 11th-ranked Northwestern on Saturday, also in Champaign.
Purdue entered its match against Indiana as the underdog both in historic and modern terms; the fifth-seeded Boilermakers trailed the all-time series with the fourth-seeded Hoosiers 2-48. Furthermore, Indiana had won the last three contests, including a meeting in Bloomington in March. The Hoosiers, winners of 16 Big Ten titles, had won all three previous meetings at the conference tournament.
None of the past mattered to the current crop of Boilermakers, who jumped out to a 1-0 lead by securing the doubles point. Although the No. 3 Purdue pair of senior Brittany Minna and freshman Anna Dzeva came up short, the Boilermaker combos at Nos. 1 and 2 delivered wins. In the top slot, sophomore Brooke Beier and freshman Mallory Voelker beat Sarah Batty and Laura McGaffigan 8-6. At No. 2, sophomore Stephanie Wooten and freshman Randi Schuler defeated Ingrid Fischer and Brianna Williams 9-7.
Indiana quickly rebounded in singles, winning the first two matches that came off the court to go ahead 2-1. Wooten turned the momentum, as she delivered a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Fischer at No. 4. After Indiana won at No. 2, the Hoosiers led 3-2.
Purdue needed two more points, while Indiana needed one, to claim the team victory. The last two matches left were No. 1 - between Schuler and Batty - and No. 3 - between Voelker and Williams. Schuler, ranked 98th in the nation, finished first, with a 7-5, 7-5 victory. Voelker then produced a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 match-clinching win to move Purdue into the semifinals for just the third time in school history (also 1998 and 2003). The Boilermakers had exited the tournament in the quarterfinal round the last two years in a row.
Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo credited his players' composure down the stretch.
"I can't say enough about how mentally tough our kids stayed throughout this match," Iandolo said. "Even though we have a lot of talent, we still are very young. For the match to come down to two freshmen and for them to prevail, that says an awful lot about the heart of this team."
Purdue's quest for its first-ever Big Ten championship continues Saturday against the Wildcats at 10 a.m. An upset over Northwestern would give the Boilermakers their first title match appearance.
#47 (#5) Purdue 4, #42 (#4) Indiana 3
Singles
1. #98 Randi Schuler (P) def. Sarah Batty (I) 7-5, 7-5
2. Laura McGaffigan (I) def. Brooke Beier (P) 6-2, 6-4
3. Mallory Voelker (P) def. Brianna Williams (I) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 *
4. Stephanie Wooten (P) def. Ingrid Fischer (I) 6-4, 6-1
5. Alba Berdala (I) def. Anna Dzeva (P) 6-0, 6-2
6. Cecile Perton (I) def. Brittany Minna (P) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
1. Beier/Voelker (P) def. Batty/McGaffigan (I) 8-6
2. Wooten/Schuler (P) def. Fischer/Williams (I) 9-7
3. Marah Calvo/Perton (I) def. Minna/Dzeva (P) 8-2
Order of singles finish: 6,5,4,2,1,3
Order of doubles finish: 3,1,2
* Denotes match-clinching victory.
Purdue: 13-9
Indiana: 17-8
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