April 23, 2009
The sixth-seeded Purdue women's tennis team defeated 11 seed Michigan State 4-2 Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament from the Nielsen Tennis Center in Madison, Wis.
"We competed extremely well in singles," head coach Laura Glitz said. "I am proud of the team for pulling through today in this tight match. For us to defeat Illinois tomorrow, we need to play aggressive, focused doubles from start to finish and carry that energy into the singles. We were so close in our dual match this season against Illinois, so I am excited to get another chance to play them tomorrow."
Purdue (9-12) was forced to battle from behind after dropping two of the three doubles decisions. Ana Milosavljevic and Elena Ivanova gave the Spartans an early lead with an 8-4 defeat of freshmen Jennifer Rabot and Remi Martin at No. 2. Junior Michelle Sammons and senior co-captain Stephanie Wooten evened the doubles competition by beating Whitney Wilson and Stephanie Kebler 8-5 at No. 1. The win was the 19th this season for Wooten and Sammons and ties them for sixth on Purdue's single-season wins list by a doubles duo. Michigan State (8-16) won the point at No. 3, where Dana Guentert and Lindsey Lonergan beat freshmen Anna Dushkina and Kay Kay Magi 8-5.
For the second time this season, Purdue found itself needing to win four out of the six singles matches to defeat the Spartans. Wooten quickly evened the team score with her 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Milosavljevic at No. 2. Michigan State answered back and took the lead for the final time when Wilson scored a 6-3, 6-4 win over Dushkina at No. 5.
Purdue won the next three matches to take the victory and advance to the second round. Sammons tied the team score by defeating Kebler 7-5, 6-3 at No. 1. Martin picked a clutch moment to grab her fifth singles win of 2009. The San Diego native gave Purdue a lead it wouldn't relinquish by outlasting Lonergan 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 at No. 6. Rabot clinched the match for the Boilermakers and moved into a tie for 10th on the school's single-season wins list with her 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Ivanova at No. 3. Rabot earned her 27th singles win of 2008-09 and improved to 7-1 this spring from the third singles spot. Junior co-captain Tatiana Ganzha was trailing Guentert 5-7, 4-2 at No. 4 when the match was decided.
"Losing the doubles point was tough because we knew we had to win four singles to get the match," Rabot said. "But, everyone fought hard and that brought us through. Steph led the way, and we all used her positive energy to get us fired up. It was truly a team effort, and we're ready for tomorrow."
Purdue improved to 25-14 all-time against Michigan State, including a 2-0 mark this season. The Boilermakers picked up a 4-3 road victory over the Spartans on April 12 in the team's regular-season meeting.
Purdue advances to face third-seeded Illinois on Friday. The Boilermakers fell 4-3 to the Fighting Illini at home March 8. Illinois, which is ranked 34th in the nation, earned the three seed and a first-round bye for the tournament after putting together an 8-2 conference record during the regular season. Friday's match begins at 3 p.m. ET from McKee Farms in Fitchburg, Wis. Live results can be found at purduesports.com.