WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Going into last weekend's Purdue Fall Invitational, freshman Athell Bennett wanted to stay focused and make a strong first impression on his teammates in his collegiate debut. Simply put, he did just that. The newcomer from Valley Stream, New York, won his first three matches and was the only Boilermaker to advance to any of the six singles championships.
On Friday, Bennett defeated Mason Dragos of Butler in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, and held off Marquette's Lule Smrek 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round. The next day, he defeated Stefan Lugonjic of Indiana 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in a match that tested Bennett's focus the most.
"That was by far the most difficult match yet," Bennett said. "Even though I dropped the first set to Lule yesterday, I wasn't playing against a known rival of Purdue. Stefan was also forcing me to hit more overheads into the sun, which is something I working on with coach Pavel and coach Francisco. It felt great to win though."
Head coach Pawel Gajdzik agreed.
"Anytime we beat an Indiana player, it feels good, but I'm especially happy for Athell," Gajdzik said. "It's a great experience for a freshman to go out there and compete on that level; it highlights what we're accomplishing with our players at Purdue. As I've said before, we're focused on developing our players into better athletes and better competitors."
In the flight A final, Bennett faced Ball State's Lucas Anderson, who had dominated the field with his forehand, winning the previous three rounds in straight sets. Bennett picked up on this early in Sunday's match and challenged Anderson by targeting his backhand, which he'd slowly slice back to the freshman. After dropping the first set 1-6, Bennet's strategy seemed to be working in the second. He broke Anderson early and forced the senior to move around the court more than he looked comfortable doing. The two continued to battle, each breaking the other once more, forcing a 7-point tie break. After three points, Bennett led 2-1, but wouldn't pick up another as Andersen stormed back to win 7-6(2).
"I know Athell would have liked a different outcome, but he should still be proud of his performance this weekend," Gajdzik said.
Purdue's Benjamin Ugarte and Renan Hanayama also had strong showings at the invitational, each going 2-1 in their respected flights. Hanayama made it to the semi-finals where he won the first set 6-3, but Piotr Baranski of Southern Illinois roared back 6-3, 6-2 to take the match.
Ugarte also looked impressive the entire weekend, despite missing the semis. After cruising to a 6-3, 6-0 victory in the first round of flight A, Ugarte then moved into the most heated match of the entire tournament. Staged on court three in the center of the Schwartz outdoor facility, Ugarte battled Avi Ben Shabat of Butler who finished each point with a signature outburst or celebration. In spite of his opponent's theatrics, Ugarte remained composed, winning the second set 7-6 after dropping the first 5-7. The two remained even in the third and final set, till Shabat broke Ugarte in a game that required the ref to address each players' sportsmanship. Shabat held serve, finishing the match 7-5 and with an echoing, "vamos."
The remaining three Boilermakers in singles action over the weekend - Matt Bouggy, Lucas Dages and Carlos Macias - each finished 1-2 in the tournament. Bouggy and Macias both won their second match after dropping the first; Dages finished the weekend with a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory.
Purdue also entered a team in each of the three flights of doubles. Bouggy and partner, Dominik Sochurek, who withdrew from singles due to illness, advanced to the semi-finals of flight C. There, the two lost 5-7 to Ball State's Tom Carney and Lucas Wiese. The team's two freshman finished 2-1 as well, convincingly winning their last two matches 6-1 and 6-3. Dages and Hanayama struggled in doubles, winning only their second match 6-4. Ugarte did not compete.
The men's tennis team will enter its third straight weekend of play at Toledo; the UT Rocket Invitational begins Friday, Sept. 30.