March 9, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 68 Purdue women's tennis team pulled off an upset in blowout fashion over the in-state rival No. 44 Indiana Hoosiers on Friday, 6-1.
Purdue (7-1, 1-0 Big Ten) started off the successful by taking the doubles point. After dropping the match at No. 3, 8-3, the top 2 pairs stepped it up for the Boilermakers. First, Jennifer Rabot and Mara Schmidt took out the top duo for Indiana, 8-5, to level the doubles score at 1. Then the Purdue juniors, Gisella Pere and Imogen Golder, clinched the point with a win at No. 2, 8-5, over Leslie Hureau and Alecia Kauss.
The Boilermakers carried the momentum into singles. Freshman Lynda Xepoleas, who debuted in the rankings for the first time at No. 124 in the latest ITA/Campbell's College Tennis Rankings, got things going first. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native made quick work of Evgeniya Vertesheva at No. 2, 6-2, 6-4.Xepoleas improved to 7-1 in dual match play for her career. Schmidt increased the Boilermaker lead to 3-0 while keeping her perfect singles record intact for the season with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 3. The Sophomore is 8-0 in dual match singles and 11-0 for the 2012 season.
Indiana (11-4, 0-1) earned its first point with a win at No. 1. Hureau needed three sets to defeat Rabot, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Purdue clinched the team victory with a win at No. 4. Daniela Vidal had an impressive come from behind victory at No. 4. The Freshman dropped the first set, 6-2. However, she was able to rally for the second set and even the match at one with a 6-4 win. Then, Vidal found herself trailing 6-5in the final set, but was able to hold serve and force a tie break. She went on to win, 7-6. Pere and Golder also had exciting three set wins. Pere won at No. 5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 and Golder won at No. 6, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 making the final score 6-1.
Purdue improves to 5-51 all-time against the Hoosiers. The Boilermakers have now won two straight against the in-state rival.
Purdue will return to action next week when it heads to California for its spring break trip. The Boilermakers will face Long Beach State on Thursday and Dartmouth on Friday. Both matches will be played at Long Beach State University.