April 23, 2015 BRACKET // TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
EVANSTON, Ill. - Lynda Xepoleas did it again. The Purdue women's tennis senior rallied to take the second and third sets in her No. 3 singles battle, clinching a 4-2 first round B1G Tournament victory over 10th-seeded Wisconsin Thursday at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center. The seventh-seeded Boilermakers (14-7) advance into a quarterfinal matchup with No. 2-seed Ohio State (18-5) Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
Other quarterfinal battles pit top-seeded Michigan (21-3) against No. 8 Minnesota (17-9), who defeated Michigan State, 4-1, in Thursday's other first round matchup, fourth-seeded Penn State (12-10) versus No. 5 Indiana (16-7) and No. 3 Northwestern (14-6) will square off against sixth-seeded Illinois (14-9).
Four days ago it was a Xepoleas' ace on Badger Ekaterina Stepanova that locked the dual victory to close out the regular season. Stepanova had revenge on her mind Thursday, taking the first set, 6-4. The score was returned by Xepoleas in the next set, sending the match into a decisive third.
However, it wasn't the only match in the third set as Nos. 1-4 all were extended. Purdue's Nicole Robinson jumped out with a 6-3 first set on Lauren Burich at No. 4, but the Badger came back to take two lopsided sets, 6-1, 6-3, to tie the team score at 2-2.
The Boilermakers took a 3-2 lead courtesy of Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum's shutout in the third in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 battle at No. 2 against Maria Avgerinos. When Bernard-Feigenbaum (19-4) finished, Daniela Vidal and Xepoleas were still out on the courts in the third set at Nos. 1 and 3, respectively.
In the clutch, Xepoleas never trailed. She dominated from first to last serve, winning 6-2, to send Purdue into the quarterfinals. The third-straight win for the Palm Springs, California, native brought her to 15-6 in her final campaign for the Boilermakers. Vidal's match at the top of the lineup was abandoned upon Xepoleas' victory.
Krisztina Kapitany notched the first singles victory of the dual match for the Old Gold & Black with a 6-4, 6-3 showing over Sydney Rider in the No. 5 position. The straight-set victory was the 13th of the season as the junior from Budapest, Hungary, lifted her spring record to 16-4.
Even though Wisconsin came away with a win at No. 2 doubles, the Boilermakers surged at Nos. 1 and 3 to claim the early lead for the 15th time this spring. The reliable and 12-0 duo of Kapitany and Robinson came through in the No. 3 spot with an 8-3 decision over Lauren Burich and Maria Avgerinos.
A matching score of 8-3 was registered by the 68th-ranked pair of Bernard-Feigenbaum and Vidal in the top spot against Badgers Lauren Chypha and Kelsey Grambeau. The veteran duo moved to 14-5 with the victory while giving the critical point to the Old Gold & Black.
No. 7 PURDUE 4, No. 10 WISCONSIN 2
Doubles
1. No. 68 Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum/Daniela Vidal (Purdue) def. Lauren Chypha/Kelsey Grambeau (Wisconsin), 8-3
2. Sydney Rider/Ekaterina Stepanova (Wisconsin) def. Natalia Davila/Lynda Xepoleas (Purdue), 8-3
3. Nicole Robinson/Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. Lauren Burich/Maria Avgerinos (Wisconsin), 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. Daniela Vidal (Purdue) vs. Lauren Chypha (Wisconsin), 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 DNF
2. Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) def. Maria Avgerinos (Wisconsin), 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
3. Lynda Xepoleas (Purdue) def. Ekaterina Stepanova (Wisconsin), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Lauren Burich (Wisconsin) def. Nicole Robinson (Purdue), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. Sydney Rider (Wisconsin), 6-4, 6-3
6. Kelsey Grambeau (Wisconsin) def. Andjela Djokovic (Purdue), 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 5, 6, 4, 2, 3