WILDCAT INVITATIONAL DRAWS (PDF) | ITA All-America Draws
EVANSTON, Ill. – The Purdue women's tennis team had its first taste of play away from home at the Wildcat Invitational on Friday. All four Boilermakers on the trip competed in singles action.
Alex Sabe rallied from a dropped first set to beat Lejla Colic in the first round of the B draw, 4-6,6-2, 6-3. After falling in the second round, the senior will meet Milica Novakovic of Marquette on Saturday.
Zala Dovnik also notched a win in the opening round against Therese Kavtaradze from Eastern Illinois, 6-1, 6-2. She will play Vanessa Strong in the third-place match of the D draw, following a second-round defeat.
The doubles flights will start on Saturday. Sabe and Dovnik will face Columbia's Julia Haynes and Xu. Nathalia Wolf Gasparin and Shimizu will team up to play EIU's Christine Gouws and Rachel Papavasilopoulis.
A pair of Boilermakers not on the trip received their draws for the weekend. Ena Babic and Csilla Fodor ventured to Tulsa, Okla., for the ITA All-American Championships. Fodor will feature in the pre-qualifying draw as the No. 13 seed. She will face TCU's Mercedes Aristegui on Saturday.
Babic's participation, as well as the tandem's doubles match, will wait until Monday for the qualifying rounds.
PURDUE MATCHES ON FRIDAY
Alex Sabe def. Lejla Colic (UIC) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 – B Draw
Melissa Sakar (Columbia) def. Alex Sabe – 6-1, 6-0 – B Draw
Zala Dovnik def. Therese Kavtaradze (EIU) – 6-1, 6-2 – C Draw
Michelle Xu (Columbia) def. Zala Dovnik – 3-6, 6-3, 10-6 – C Draw
Lesley Foe (Marquette) def. Seira Shimizu – 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 – D Draw
Daria Afanasyeva (James Madison) def. Nathalia Wolf Gasparin – 6-2, 7-6 – A Draw