Feb. 7, 2010
The Purdue women's tennis team remained undefeated by taking down Missouri 5-2 Sunday afternoon at the Green Tennis Center in Columbia, Mo.
"I thought we battled extremely well," head coach Laura Glitz said. "It was a very tough match, and I was impressed with the fight and heart we played with today. It is always tough playing on the road, and to beat Missouri on the road was a very good accomplishment for us. I feel like we are getting more mentally tough with each match."
Purdue (6-0) picked up the doubles point for the sixth time in as many contests this season. Senior Michelle Sammons and sophomore Jennifer Rabot remained perfect as a team this season when they beat Mallory Weber and Kaitlyn Ritchie 8-4 at No. 1. Purdue's sophomore duo of Anna Dushkina and Remi Martin swung the point when they beat Andrea Lewis and Kristen Bleakeley 9-8 (6). Freshman Imogen Golder and junior Bhavani Tirumurti suffered their first loss this season as Jamie Mera and Sofia Ayala picked up an 8-6 victory.
The Boilermakers won four singles decisions to put the match away. Sammons quickly dispatched of Weber at the top spot of the singles lineup as she earned a 6-0, 6-1 win. Rabot continued her unbeaten start to the season by defeating Ritchie 7-5, 7-6 (2) at No. 2. Tirumurti, playing her first season at Purdue after transferring from Denver, remained undefeated in singles play as a Boilermaker with her 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Mera at No. 3.
Golder improved to 5-1 in dual matches in her collegiate career by battling back to take down Lewis 6-7 (5), 6-3, 1-0 (4) at No. 5. Missouri (1-2) won the other two singles matches as Ayala earned a 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 (1) win over Dushkina at No. 4, and Maria Christensen won 6-1, 6-2 over freshman Gisella Pere at the No. 6 position.
Purdue picked up its second straight win over Missouri and now leads the all-time series 4-3. Purdue has won six consecutive matches, which is the longest season-opening streak in program history and the longest stretch at any point in a season since the 2007 squad won eight in a row.
The Boilermakers return to the court Wednesday when they host Western Michigan. Action begins at 3 p.m. ET on the Basham Courts inside the Schwartz Tennis Center.