WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ââ'¬" Purdue looked to return to its winning ways against DePaul on Sunday, but the women's tennis team was defeated for the second time this season inside the Schwartz Tennis Center. The Blue Demons edged past the Boilermakers 4-3 in the three-hour, 15-minute match. The team started off the season with five straight victories ââ'¬" its best mark since 2010, but have now slid to 5-3 after dropping its lone road match at Dartmouth two weeks ago.
Up until recently, doubles play had also been a strength for Purdue. The Boilermakers picked up the point in their first six matches, but Sunday's loss marked the second time in a row that Purdue's tandems weren't in sync.
Natalia Davila and Andjela Djokovic fell first to DePaul's Keisha Clousing and Patricia Lancranjan 6-2 on court two. This was only the second time the pair had played together this spring, losing last week to Virginia Tech. Both players previously competed in two other matches with freshman Caitlin Calkins, each securing a 1-1 record. Davila also teamed up with sophomore Marta Ruedas to open the season against Butler, but that match was left unfished when Davila needed to retire.
On court one, Rafaella Baquerizo and Nicole Robinson battled back from a 5-2 start to push the match to 5-4 with the Boilermakers back on serve. Yuliya Shepenia and Ana Vladutu outlasted Purdue's duo, however, as Robinson double faulted to end the match at 6-4.
Behind 1-0 heading into singles, the Boilermakers needed four individual points to win the team match. They picked up two with victories by Baquerizo and Davila; Davila finished first on court six 6-1, 6-4 over Florence Abbott. Baquerizo completed her match fourth, defeating Aspasia Avgeri 6-3, 6-3.
Purdue also lost two points in that span as Djokovic and Robinson dropped their matches 6-1, 6-4 and 6-0, 6-2 respectively.
Down 3-2, the team looked to Deborah Suarez on court five to come back from a first set deficit to push the match to three all. The senior was able to pick up the second set, but ultimately fell 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to Vladutu, giving the victory to the Blue Demons.
Alex Sabe's match against Lancranjan was allowed to play out to 6-7 6-3, 6-3 Purdue, moving the final score to 4-3 DePaul.
The women return to the Schwartz Tennis Center on Friday in a 3 p.m. ET match against Arkansas.