Butler Box Score / Toledo Box ScoreWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After nearly a two-month break from play, the women's tennis team delivered a pair of victories to open the spring season Saturday. The squad shutout Butler 7-0 in the first match of the doubleheader and followed that performance with a 6-1 win over Toledo.
During the morning session, the Boilermakers quickly captured the doubles point with two 6-1 sets - one by Caitlin Calkins and Grace Schaffer, and the other coming from Rafaella Baquerizo and Nicole Robinson. The team then went on to win six straight singles points against the Bulldogs. Calkins, making her Purdue debut, was the only player of the four to not compete in singles; head coach Laura Glitz rounded out her lineup with Andjela Djokovic, Marta Ruedas and Alex Sabe.
Baquerizo earned the first singles point against Kendal Wilby 6-2, 6-0. Schaffer defeated Caroline McAuley 6-2, 6-3; and Sabe clinched the match for the Boilermakers with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jocelyn Koester.
The afternoon match against Toledo proved to be a little more competitive, lasting two hours, 45 minutes. Again, Purdue picked up the doubles point with a 6-0 victory from Sabe and Ruedas and a 6-3 win by Calkins and Djokovic. However, the Boilermakers would give up their first point of 2017 in singles, with another being decided by a third-set tiebreaker.
Baquerizo struck first again, beating Claire Aleck 6-2, 6-2; Djokovic followed right behind with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Colleen O'Brien. Robinson then dropped her point against Sidnay Huck 6-4, 6-1. Ruedas secured the match at 4-1, winning 6-4, 6-1 against Mimi Kendal-Wosely.
The Rockets continued to fight, though, even after the decision; Schaffer needed a 7-5 breaker in the second to put Megan Miller away 6-2, 7-6. Deedee Leenabanchong also battled Sabe to the end, forcing a third-set. Sabe ran away with the tiebreak, however, winning the last point of the day on a double fault 6-2, 6-7, 1-0 (10-5).
The team plays another doubleheader this Sunday, facing Evansville at 9 a.m. ET and Xavier at 3 p.m.
