April 23, 2010
The 52nd-ranked Purdue women's tennis team suffered a 6-1 setback to 28th-ranked Iowa on Friday evening at the Klotz Outdoor Tennis Courts in Iowa City, Iowa.
"We came out today with a lot of energy in doubles," head coach Laura Glitz said. "We played well all the way down the line, but we just could not capitalize on our opportunities. I felt that Iowa just played better than us in singles. We will regroup tomorrow and get ready to take on Minnesota on Sunday."
Purdue (15-5, 4-5 Big Ten) dropped a close-as-possible doubles point to open the match. Lynne Poggensee-Wei and Alexis Dorr clinched the point for Iowa (16-5, 6-4) with a 9-7 win over junior Bhavani Tirumurti and freshman Imogen Golder at No. 2, while the other two matches required a tiebreak. Sonja Molnar and Merel Beelen, the 13th-ranked doubles team in the NCAA, earned a 9-8 (7) decision over senior Michelle Sammons and sophomore Jennifer Rabot at No. 1, and Jessica Young and Kelcie Klockenga won 9-8 (2) over sophomore Anna Dushkina and freshman Gisella Pere at No. 2.
The Hawkeyes rode their momentum after squeaking out the doubles point to five singles victories. Young extended the lead with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Dushkina at No. 4 before Molnar, the 66th-ranked singles player in the NCAA, snapped Sammons' three-match winning streak with a 6-2, 6-1 decision at No. 1. Klockenga clinched the match by taking down Golder 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5. Beelen then earned a 7-5, 6-4 win over Tirumurti at No. 3, and Poggensee-Wei handed Rabot just her third dual-match singles loss this season 7-6 (5), 6-3 at No. 2.
Pere allowed Purdue to avoid a shutout by claiming the fifth Big Ten win of her initial run through the conference. The Guayaquil, Ecuador, native defeated Dorr 6-4, 7-6 (1) at No. 6. Pere, who joined the Boilermakers in January, improved to 11-6 overall and 5-4 against Big Ten competition this season to move into a tie for second on the team in conference singles wins.
Purdue concludes its regular season Sunday at 66th-ranked Minnesota. The Boilermakers and Golden Gophers square off from the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn., at 1 p.m. ET.