Oct. 20, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team had a tough day on Saturday at the Ohio Valley Regional. The Boilermakers went 5-8 on the day and just 2-8 in main draw play, though five of the losses went three sets.
Krisztina Kapitany and Lynda Xepoleas had the best singles performances for the Boilermakers in the main draw. Kapitany, after winning her first match on Friday, advanced to the round of 16 with a victory over the No. 15 seed Jessica Stiles of Kentucky on Saturday. The freshman picked up her best win of the season in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Kapitany would then lose a tough three set match to the No. 6 seed Julia Fellerhoff of Louisville, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.
Xepoleas also had a win over a Kentucky Wildcat on Saturday. The sophomore defeated Kirsten Lewis 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5) to advance to the round of 16. There, Xepoleas, the No. 7 seed, battled the No. 9 seed Courtney Colton of Vanderbilt. Colton proved to be a little bit more consistent in the match and held on to win, 7-5, 6-3.
Daniela Vidal had the best day overall for Purdue. Vidal went 2-0 in back draw singles matches on Saturday. The sophomore defeated Daniella Patton of Xavier, 6-2, 6-0, in the first round. She next advanced to the quarterfinals by way of a walkover. In the quarterfinal, Vidal was again victorious as she defeated Courtney Wild of Ball State, 6-3, 6-1. Vidal is scheduled to play her semifinal match in the back draw at 12:30 p.m. ET against an opponent that will be determined on Sunday.
In doubles, Vidal and Xepoleas picked up a back draw win over Kally Alkire and Alex Brinker of Xavier. The Boilermaker sophomores won, 8-5, to advance to the consolation semifinals. The Purdue duo will be first on the court on Sunday when it takes on a doubles team from Memphis. The winner of the match will play a Miami duo in the finals.
Imogen Golder, Gisella Pere, Claudia Escribens, Mara Schmidt and Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum had tough days on Saturday as they all dropped their only singles matches of the day. Pere, Schmidt, Golder, and Escribens all lost in three sets to go along with Kapitany's aforementioned defeat. Bernard-Feigenbaum's loss was the first of her career after winning the IU Invite and the MSU Invite before picking up a win on Friday in the regional.
The doubles team of Bernard-Feigenbaum and Schmidt was also eliminated from the main draw. The duo fell to the No. 2 seed, 8-3.