Feb. 17, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team continued the best start in program history and ran their season-opening winning streak to seven by defeating Western Michigan 5-2 Wednesday afternoon on the Basham Courts inside the Schwartz Tennis Center.
"Western Michigan played well," head coach Laura Glitz said. "It was a tough battle from beginning to end. I thought the team did a great job of coming back after losing the doubles point and competing hard in singles."
Purdue (7-0) fell into an early hole as the team dropped the doubles point for the first time this season. Senior Michelle Sammons and sophomore Jennifer Rabot continued their unbeaten start with an 8-3 defeat of Emily Dudzik and Jill Pastunink at No. 1. Western Michigan (6-4) evened the point when Yumi Matsuto and Maggie Remynse picked up an 8-4 decision over junior Bhavani Tirumurti and freshman Imogen Golder at No. 3. The Broncos clinched the point at No. 2, where Amanda Moccia and April Kerr earned an 8-3 win over sophomores Anna Dushkina and Remi Martin.
Sammons quickly tied the match as she dispatched of Dudzik 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 in less than 45 minutes. Tirumurti pulled the Boilermakers into the lead and remained unbeaten in singles play this season with her 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Remynse at No. 3. Rabot brought Purdue within one point of victory while keeping her unbeaten start intact by defeating Moccia 6-0, 7-6 (4) at the No. 2 position.
Dushkina clinched the match for the Boilermakers when she came back to take down Maria Nivia 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4. The Broncos were able to avoid a singles sweep by virtue of Matsuto's 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 defeat of freshman Gisella Pere at No. 6. Golder brought the match to its conclusion with another come-from-behind victory at No. 5 by downing Pastunink 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
"After I lost my first set, my energy and the team's energy really picked up," Dushkina said. "I was able to build off that and regain my focus. That really helped me the most in the close games. We are a very strong team fitness wise. That really helped us, especially in the three-set matches that were the difference. We were able to win because we were stronger and mentally tougher."
The Boilermakers now lead the all-time series 16-12. Purdue returns to the court Feb. 26 when it hosts Oregon at 1 p.m. ET.