April 19, 2015
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - An ace from senior Lynda Xepoleas clinched the No. 34 Purdue women's tennis team's 5-2 victory over Wisconsin Sunday on the Basham Courts of the Schwartz Tennis Center. The win closed out the regular season for the Boilermakers, who finished with a 6-2 mark on their home courts. They will take a 13-7, 6-5 B1G record into next week's B1G Women's Tennis Tournament, while the Badgers dropped to 10-11, 4-7 B1G.
Xepoleas made the most of her final appearance at the Schwartz Tennis Center. With Purdue holding a 3-1 advantage in the team score, the senior from Palm Springs, California, pulled through with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Ekaterina Stepanova at No. 3. The win lifted her spring record to 14-6.
"It was a memorable way to end my last match on senior day," Xepoleas said. "I hope it [the win] can rally, not only myself, but the team [heading] into the B1G Tournament next week. It was a great and fulfilling feeling."
Her win came on the heels of Krisztina Kapitany's 7-5, 6-2 win over the Badgers' Sydney Rider in the battle at No. 5, while picking up her 15th victory.
In the No. 2 position, Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum gave the lead back to the Boilermakers after Wisconsin's Lauren Chypha took the No. 1 match to start singles play, knotting the score at 1-1. Bernard-Feigenbaum tallied her 18th victory of the spring thanks her 6-3, 6-1 win over Maria Avgerinos.
Purdue's fifth point came by way of Andjela Djokovic with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 comeback win over Kelsey Grambeau in the No. 6 position. The Badgers registered their second point in the breaker at No. 4.
The Old Gold & Black took the early lead for the 14th time this season by earing the doubles point. Finishing first was the 88th-ranked duo of Daniela Vidal and Bernard-Feigenbaum. The veteran pair moved to team-best 13-5 as they defeated Lauren Chypha and Kelsey Grambeau, 8-4, at the top of the lineup.
Nicole Robinson and Kapitany closed out the regular season undefeated at 11-0 by clinching the doubles point in the No. 3 spot. The tandem dominated in an 8-2 performance against Wisconsin's Lauren Burich and Avgerinos.
The B1G Tournament awaits the Boilermakers April 23--26. Northwestern will host the event at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center and Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Illinois. For more information on the B1G Women's Tennis Tournament please click here.
No. 34 PURDUE 5, WISCONSIN 2
Doubles
1. No. 88 Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum/Daniela Vidal (Purdue) def. Lauren Chypha/Kelsey Grambeau (Wisconsin), 8-4
2. Sydney Rider/Ekaterina Stepanova (Wisconsin) vs. Natalia Davila/Lynda Xepoleas (Purdue), 5-5, DNF
3. Nicole Robinson/Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. Lauren Burich/Maria Avgerinos (Wisconsin), 8-2
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
1. Lauren Chypha (Wisconsin) def. Daniela Vidal (Purdue), 6-2, 6-3
2. Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) def. Maria Avgerinos (Wisconsin), 6-3, 6-1
3. Lynda Xepoleas (Purdue) def. Ekaterina Stepanova (Wisconsin), 7-5, 6-1
4. Lauren Burich (Wisconsin) def. Nicole Robinson (Purdue), 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (5)
5. Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. Sydney Rider (Wisconsin), 7-5, 6-2
6. Andjela Djokovic (Purdue) def. Kelsey Grambeau (Wisconsin), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 2, 5, 3, 4, 6